


To Forgive And To Let Go

by ColdWhiteLight



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: 1st chapter is the past 2nd chapter on is the present, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Djinni & Genies, Enemies to Lovers, In a sense, M/M, Mermaids, Slavery, Slow Burn, Supernatural Elements, Superpowers, arabian setting, bandits, caravan trade, desert kingdoms, made up mythology and pantheon, water politics and feuds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:47:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 124,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27934108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColdWhiteLight/pseuds/ColdWhiteLight
Summary: On a half desert continent where water is the most precious commodity, wars were fought for it and people live in unrest, holding onto their Gods of water and of fire, waiting for a miracle.Amidst the turmoil, Kimi passes his time with his caravan trade, travelling across the desert, and chances upon an exceptional healer, Sebastian.Fated to meet right from the start, their lives change forever to either fulfill their destiny or to lay ruin on each other and on the lands.What will they choose to do?
Relationships: Kimi Räikkönen/Sebastian Vettel
Comments: 140
Kudos: 241





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to post this again as now I know how I will finish it. Enjoy and leave me a kudos or something.

Kimi had two distinct memories dug deep into his psyche from when he was growing up into a young boy: The undeniable existence of a merciless sun and the cruel absence of water.

His grandmother, who was the most respected elder of the country, tried to shield him from the harsh reality but Kimi could hear it everywhere and could see it wherever he turned his eyes to. He knew it like he knew his name and he felt it in the morrow of his bones.

There was no rain, but only the eternal glare of the sun.

The image of that yellow globe, so high above, so majestic and unattainable was stuck burned behind his eyelids, ran through his veins and filled up his core, nestling in his very essence. It was indelible. So much so that, he felt the deepest thirst, the most boundless desire for water like no other could and no one should. His chest hurt, his head swam with the vastness of his longing, but there was no water to quench it, no words to describe it, and no one was wise enough to understand it.

Yet there was something worse than that voracious thirst.

People condemned him. Even though he was their prince, they judged him severely. They said that he was cursed, that he was a punishment sent from heavens to Shalbatana.

Since the day he was born, it was rumored that not even a drop of rain fell to the capital city, the clouds passing by above the dried up earth without mercy, going up to the north. The sun blazed in an insatiable fury upon the charred earth. It was so bright, so scorching, and so indomitable in its unchanging deadly beauty. It was their god, they worshiped it, and they revered it and honored it, wishing it would grant them life and prosperity on their lands. But even the once fertile lands were slowly turning arid and barren.

River Arda, which was their source of life, was unable to resist the red glare of the sun, either. The water was diminishing; Arda’s flow rate was declining year by year because rain did not fall. The snow water coming from the mountains where Arda was born was not enough to resist the unruly sun that reigned over their Kingdom. And people were whispering about how Kimi was the cause of it, how cursed he was, how damned the people and the lands were to become because their destiny was intertwined with a measly child's who did not even know how to control his own thirst.

“You are the sun!” They were saying. “You control it. Tell it to have mercy upon us!” Even the servants were beseeching to him when his father and mother didn’t look, whenever he was walking around the palace, whenever someone found him alone. “Tell it to give us life, not take it, Prince!”

Kimi didn’t know what to do, didn’t understand what the others were saying, why the people were both blaming him and fearing him.

How could he be the sun?

The sun was up there, illuminating everyone, even Kimi. How could he command something so awe inspiring, so grand and deadly and far away with this small fragile body of his? How? Why was he held responsible of all this sadness, desperation, calamity and devastation? He didn’t do anything bad. He really didn’t.

He could only look on as the land died, taking the people along with it. And knowing that your very existence was deemed the cause of it was the greatest torment a child could ever taste.

“He should be taken away.” The Elders were saying, fear and respect in their eyes as Kimi gazed up at them, not understanding why people dreaded him so much. “He is unbalanced now, his thirst is so insatiable that it burns him and in return he burns the lands.” The mages were telling. “He should wander around, should never stay somewhere for too long. Until we find a way…” They were bowing to him. “Until he finds his balance...”

It was decided.

No matter how much his mother cried, no matter how much his grandmother protested, nobody cared or listened. Even his father, the king, was powerless against the decision of the Elders. Their kingdom was dying and the king could never let his sole child be targeted for it. Kimi was to leave.

Kimi did not remember much about how he left the palace, how in secrecy he was taken out of the capital city, Behram. He was entrusted to two men who were about his father’s age. They were Beys, people of high esteem and status in the palace. His father trusted them. One of them was named Rosberg, the other was Norris. They were good people. They did not fear him; they did not treat him as if he was cursed. They talked to him and told him about their own kids, promising him that he’d meet them as soon as possible, that they’d be good friends.

Kimi believed them. He was thankful to them for helping keep his mind away from the devastated faces of his mother and father and that solemn, sad look that his grandmother had. He knew that he wasn’t going to see any of them for a long time. Yet at least now, Kimi thought that they were going to be alright and hopefully rain would fall and make everything better.

He was wrong. He did not see the rain.

For miles and miles down to the southwest, they rode. They saw famine, drought, depravity and hopelessness in as many cities and as many villages that they passed. The sun was standing up above them like a guardian, sentencing them to witness how lands turned mad in want of a drop of water. Kimi felt himself going brittle like a little twig.

Illness was everywhere. People were dying both because of the famine and because of having nothing to keep up the hygiene with. Cholera and dysentery were becoming common and deadly. They had to do something about it, but Kimi didn’t know more than the thing that had been drilled into his mind; that he was the reason of it and he had to go away to end it.

So, he went away.

After they were out of the country, they stopped in a village belonging to the country of Qenaan in the southwest. This country was partially situated on the Great Desert but Kimi was thankful that here in this part of it there were no intimidating dunes or irritating sand around. The country was arid but not as much as how Shalbatana had been when they had left it. At least, people could grow grains and herd camels here. More importantly, there were several little brooks around that could be used for irrigation. And the children were certainly happier.

Kimi hoped that rain was finally falling in his kingdom now, and as if in answer to his prayers, a messenger coming from the country reported rain. He had never felt that much relief in his entire short life ever.

But soon after they had passed the border of the country, Kimi fell ill.

Neither Norris nor Rosberg understood what was wrong. Kimi was rubbing at his eyes and involuntarily crying under the bright light of the sun. The whites of his eyes were irritated, tiny veins visible, and he had trouble keeping them open as if there was sand in them. The adults were disturbed by the turn of the events. They were always on the go, so finding a healer to understand what was wrong with their prince was nearly impossible.

Kimi was in pain. He had never thought before that keeping his eyes open would be such a painful experience. But he loathed not being able to see, he feared it greatly. Even though everybody hated how the sun nailed them down into the acrid earth, he loved looking up at it, he loved the fiery red impression that it left behind his eyelids. But, ah… His eyes hurt so much, his eyelids felt so crisp like paper, sandy, and hot. Leaving them open hurt, closing them felt like they scraped over his eyes. He hurt, he hurt so much and with that, his thirst grew.

They couldn’t stay in that village for long, because Kimi’s presence made itself known quickly. Wherever the boy went, it was as if the humidity in the air vanished without even a sliver of it left. The Beys realized that the more tormented the boy was in, the harsher the weather turned and the madder the sun blazed. All they could do was to move and hope to find someone before their prince went blind with the worsening condition that his eyes got. They even considered returning back to their own country instead of wandering lost at the edge of the desert like this. But with the condition that the prince was in, with the rains that had begun to shower their homeland as soon as the boy had left, people would surely stigmatize the prince and believe that their claims had been proven true.

"The prince is really cursed; even his eyes are going to be taken, look! He is drying up like the sun itself!"

They could practically hear the damnation that was to come and the idea was never uttered again. The boy was already going through more than a human could stand. They had to find a way, because Kimi could no longer keep his eyes open in the daylight. The boy tried to keep himself from rubbing at his eyes, but it was a fruitless effort as the itch was too strong and agonizing to bear. Rheum collected around the lids in an unnatural and excessive way, the eyelids were swollen and red, hot to the touch. All they could do was to wash them as regularly as they could, using their precious water to sooth Kimi’s agitation even for a bit.

Kimi was afraid. Never before, not even when he had to leave his home and family behind that he had felt such a fear. He was scared of losing his sight. His eyes became the bane of his existence and torment in such a short amount of time that he couldn’t remember how things escalated from mere irritation to not being able to open his eyes at all.

But as time passed and as they traveled, things only got worse. He developed a fever that didn’t seem to go down no matter what the two Beys did. They were in their fifth month of travel and Kimi had been ill for more than a month now. Even though they knew that their prince was practically exiled from his country, his condition was worsening in an alarming way. They had to reconsider their earlier idea of returning. But what if someone targeted his life for coming back? One would think that nobody would be crazy enough to lay a hand on someone who was considered as the sun itself, but… A hopeless man had nothing to lose when desperation dictated survival against all costs. And their prince refused to return.

Kimi rejected the idea of going back in such fervor that the Beys were astonished at his stubborn and unshakable decision. He told them not to stop until they’d find someone to heal him, until someone would come along and end his misery.

Soon after a week, Kimi was reduced to spend most of his time as half delirious with a wet cloth covering his eyes like a blindfold, on horseback. They were traveling deep into the more populated parts of the Qenaan country, milder in weather and richer in water.

They stopped at a large village on the outskirts of Shari, Qenaan’s capital city in the north. An elder woman checked Kimi and told them that the ailment in his eyes was a contagious one and it was a miracle how the adults hadn’t contacted it yet. She prepared things to relieve the pain and reduce the inflammation but told them that she couldn’t cure it completely. But Kimi was ready to settle even for a moment’s respite from the torment that he was going through.

* * *

Well into the third week of his fever, he believed that he was slowly going crazy. He was seeing young girls. Even though his eyes were closed, he was seeing young girls following him wherever he went, giggling at him, trying to touch him, dancing around him. They looked as if they were made of gold, so brilliant, so beautiful and energetic. Their hair flew around them as if spun from the sun rays, intricate, ephemeral, and so stunning. They were talking to him animatedly with hopeful looks on their faces but he could only watch.

The Beys found lodging in an earthen house, doing everything the elder woman had advised them. But the fever did not go down. The prince could open his eyes now even though it stung horribly, but he was telling them that he could barely see. Rosberg was worried that the fever would impair the already abused eyes of their charge, because Kimi’s gaze was cloudy and empty.

Of course, the two Beys didn’t know what Kimi was seeing even when he couldn't open his eyes, whenever he could collect himself enough to think through the slow burn that was his fever.

The girls were telling him things even though he couldn’t make out a word. Wherever they walked they seemed to create a map of golden threads and he was amazed and afraid that his fingertips were connected to the threads that the girls were weaving with their small feet. He felt like a pitiful spider that was caught in its own web. His insides felt charred as if no water could ever redeem him from his ashes again.

He thought that dying was quite a harrowing affair.

As Rosberg kept in contact with the messengers and looked after Kimi, Norris didn’t sit around, either. He searched and looked for someone in the city, seeing that their prince was about to boil in his own blood. The little boy was half conscious and no longer spoke to them, no longer ate or even heard them. Norris wished that they could counsel with the mages of their country but there was no time for that. He rode his horse from inn to inn, asking and hoping.

Maybe by a miracle, maybe by the hand of destiny, Norris found someone. The people in a small tavern told him about a healer who was able to heal all the sick within a week before he left for the next town a day before. "It was unbelievable," they’d say. "He can really cure anything!" And all Norris needed before he rushed back onto the road was to know where the healer was headed to.

He rode his horse so hard to reach the healer that Norris pitied the animal, but it paid off. He found two men around his age who were traveling with a boy towards the village that Rosberg and their prince were staying at. Approaching the cautious guys was a feat. One of them had steely eyes, stern and sharpened like knives, the other one was a person of colour, equally serious and alert. He told them their story, told them that their charge was ill, that people were talking about the healer who could cure anything. The two men seemed ready to dice him into pieces, doubtful, but they came with him since they were also eventually headed there anyway.

Norris wondered which of the men the famed healer was. Both of them looked as fierce as it got. He hoped that whoever the healer was, he really could be of some help, because he couldn’t think of an alternative where they’d lose their prince. The men talked little and the boy with them had a wistful look about him as if he missed something, as if he wished to be somewhere else. Norris realized that the emotion played in those eyes was the same as their prince had whenever he thought that no one looked. Now the prince's eyes were vacant even on the mere occasion that they opened.

Norris had spent five days in search and in returning back to the village and when he invited the other men in their rented house, Kimi was a ghost of his earlier self. Not that the boy had been any good before he had left but this was too much. He shared a meaningful look with Rosberg who was sitting besides the prince, one hand buried in his khalat, in case something would happen.

“An elder told us that the condition in his eyes is contagious, please be careful.” Norris sat at the foot of the bed and nodded towards the other boy, indicating that they should keep the child away. But astonishingly, the boy approached and sat beside the bed and smiled sweetly.

“Don’t worry, please. I’ll be alright.” He pushed up his sleeves and leaned over the prince who was mumbling incomprehensible things in his fever frayed sleep. 

“This is bad…” The boy’s brows furrowed. “The condition in his eyes looks like trachoma. He kept rubbing at them, didn’t he?” He asked, his eyes looking older than his body was. 

Rosberg numbly nodded and Norris watched him with a slackened jaw. 

“He must have caught it from someplace where there is little water, but are large herds. How long has he been like this?”

“A-about two months for his eyes, three weeks for his fever...” Norris answered, still disbelieving. “But, wait, wait, wait… Is he the healer?!” He asked the steely eyed male in utter surprise and a little belittling tone in his voice.

The man nodded from where he stood by the entrance. “He _is_ the healer.” He enunciated with a serious posture.

“But… How? Are you trying to swindle us?” Rosberg looked as rattled as Norris felt, but he was still ready to draw his sword if it was needed.

“Gentlemen…” The other man in the healer boy's company intervened, his countenance exuding calmness and authority. “Just let him have a look at your charge.”

“Yes, it is as he says…” The boy began to talk without tearing his eyes away from his patient, serene and to the point.

“He’ll go blind if this is not treated.” He declared, wiser than his years. “Bring me boiled water quickly. Let’s clean his eyes a bit.”

Norris got up and went to do as he was told.

“I need some cloth. Clean pieces... If there is none, boil some in water and bring them, too.”

Rosberg was the one who took up the task.

“And one more thing…” The boy stopped, for the first time looking up at the adults. “What is his name?”

“Kimi...” Rosberg answered, witnessing how learning that brought a huge smile on the boy’s face.

Kimi woke up to the sound of his name being called as if coming from a far away dream. He concentrated on the voice, trying to move, but it was impossible to twitch even a finger. Yet the voice persisted. It was a beautiful voice, hearing it was clearing Kimi’s mind. It belonged to a boy and all of a sudden, forgetting his torment, Kimi wanted to open his eyes and see him. The desire was so strong that when he finally managed to crack his eyelids a bit, he cried in pain and disappointment, because all he saw was a bluish light and the girls. They danced around the light and Kimi spent every bit of his energy to see past the light and find out who the owner of the voice was.

“Good! That’s very good, Kimi!” The other boy was commending him, his voice cheerful, so happy. For a moment, Kimi resented that happiness. Here, he was in so much pain, he was going crazy, and he was boiling and blistering. What was to be cheerful about it? Yet the other’s voice was like an anchor and despite his irritation, he held onto it dearly.

“Now then… I know it’s hard, but open your eyes further, Kimi, open them and look up at me.”

Ah… He wanted nothing more than being able to do that. But he couldn’t. There was only light. Frustration gnawed at his insides and he tried to move, asking for water, repeating the demand like a mantra.

He felt a soft touch under his head, “Here…” But then… “Ow!” The owner of the voice recoiled after laying his head down. “You are burning! How can anyone be alive with this fever?” The boy’s bewilderment was so strong that it even made Kimi flinch, his breath laboring further as if there wasn’t enough air.

“Isn’t it normal? He is running a fever.” Another voice, it was Rosberg and another touch, a bigger hand.

“You can touch him?” The boy asked, astonished. “It is... It is like he is melting! He is burning like the sun...”

And there was silence after that comment, as if it had been a condemnation. But Kimi wanted that hand to return. It had felt cool for a moment there. He wanted the feeling back.

“How can someone run a fever like this for weeks yet still survive…” It was not a question, the boy was murmuring to himself in utter disbelief.

“Alright, alright... Bring it near.” Sound of water and then the touch returned, wet and cool and life giving and taking Kimi’s breath away like he had never breathed before.

“Calm down, Kimi… Calm down…” The boy was cooing to him and Kimi loved to hear that tone.

“Pour water over us.” The healer boy ordered and Kimi started to violently shiver when his body was drenched slowly.

“Open up, Kimi.” 

And the next moment he was drinking the most delicious and the freshest water that he had ever drunk, mending him deep inside.

“Slowly… There, there… Slowly, Kimi…” There was a smile in the boy’s voice and the water finished all too soon.

“Give me a piece of cloth.” 

But without a warning, agony captured him again. His eyes were being wiped at; the lids were being coaxed open. And unsurprisingly, he started to trash, reaching up to the boy who was holding his head and upper body to him and grabbed at him wherever he could. His touch made the other boy cry in pain, but the skin was so cool, so life giving that Kimi couldn’t stop himself. He burrowed to the other's body as much as humanly possible, his grip vice like. 

“Water, pour water over us!” The smile was gone from the voice and the arms that held him were trembling, but Kimi was far beyond from registering the pain he was inflicting. And after a few splashes over their bodies, one of the adults forcefully pried him from the other boy, making him wail in loss like a siren. The golden girls were giggling at him.

The adults around him fussed over the other boy, some of them a bit angry, the others apologetic. But Kimi didn’t register most of the conversation, mumbling for water again, crying involuntarily and reaching blindly for the other boy.

“You have to endure.” The other’s voice sounded a bit put off, but all the same, he touched his forehead courageously, even though he hissed a bit in pain. Soft whispers surrounded him in a language he had never heard before, but he likened it to the noise the water made as it fell on the stone and the earth and the leaves. Water was continually splashed to his head, cleaning his eyes and face, calming him a bit.

“You sleep now.” The boy said. “You’ll need it next time you wake up, Kimi.” And the voice cooed him back to sleep in that unknown language.

“I can’t believe you let him endure such a scorching fever for so long. His eyes are damaged. If you leave this alone, he’ll lose his sight and eventually die.” The boy declared after Kimi’s breath calmed down. “Actually, it is a miracle he had survived this long!”

“But nothing can bring his temperature down. We tried so many medicines and herbs.” Rosberg protested in anguish.

“This fever is not because of an illness.” The boy looked back at their prince, now his own face solemn and upset. “He is tired.” He mumbled thoughtfully. “He has come a long way, hasn’t he? He is so tired and his soul is so worn out that only water could heal him.” 

It was as if the boy was talking about himself, too, Norris thought, but the moment passed when the boy turned his determined gaze back to the adults. 

“Bring us to a water body here. I’ll wash him there. It’ll be the fastest solution, though it’ll hurt a lot.”

Kimi didn’t know but, these words created quite the argument among the adults. The boy was listening to them patiently, knowing that in the end he’d cure Kimi either this way or that way. His patient was too sick to endure any more of this fever. But instinctively, when their skin contacted, he understood that the blond haired boy didn’t need normal medicine. He had never seen someone like this. If he had to describe it, Kimi was like a dried up plum. Human body consisted of quite a good amount of water, but the one in Kimi was nearly dead, causing great suffering for him. How could someone become like this, he didn’t know, but at least there was a fool proof solution for it even though it hurt like there was no tomorrow. Yet he believed that Kimi was strong enough to endure it.

As the others argued, mostly Rosberg trying to dispel his doubts, Norris watched the other boy. The kid looked so innocent and devoted. He thought that the small kid could easily be the definition of purity and strength of believing in the goodness of things. There was a sad kind of gentle smile on the boy’s face as he cooed to his patient, massaging the prince’s forehead. Norris could see that the palm of the kid was an angry red, as if it was burnt and blistered, but the boy was no longer flinching. His eyes going wide, Norris asked. “Is that a burn in your palm?”

The kid looked up at him and sheepishly drew his hand back and reached to his neck to rub at his nape. “Yes, but I’ll heal myself later, it’s nothing.” And Norris saw some other angry red burns on the child's neck area where their prince had grabbed at before. His mouth slackened in shock.

The child’s confession alerted his guardians. The stern one immediately went up to him and checked his hand, his face turning murderous in an instant. “You are not doing this!” He hissed like a doting parent would.

The child regarded him calmly and to Norris’s surprise, he took on a serious look. “No, I will. He’ll die sooner or later if I don’t.”

The adults exchanged looks that told a lot, but it was as if the boy’s words were final. 

“So, will you take us to the water or not?” The healer boy asked.

Rosberg and Norris eventually gave their consent. “But know that it’ll cause great pain. He’ll scream and cry a lot, but he’ll be cured even from the illnesses you haven’t realized yet.”

They didn’t know what to do with that information, but they were desperate enough to try everything.

The next thing Kimi knew was the feeling of being submerged into water as his body was passed from a strong embrace to a frail child’s arms. Even through the haze of his consciousness, he immediately recognized the owner of the arms and relaxed. The other held him cautiously and gently as they sat in a shallow body of water. The pain was immense, but the relief that the water gave was wonderful. He tried to open his eyes, tried to move in that small cool embrace, but he couldn’t.

“Kimi, do you know how to swim?” The boy was asking in a small voice. “I know and I wish we could swim here together. This lake is so beautiful and cool. It is so friendly and it agreed to help you.” 

Kimi honed in on to the voice with everything he got. He was crying. 

“Kimi, it will hurt. It’ll hurt quite a lot, but try to bear with it, because you’ll be as good as new, okay? I promise.”

If he could, Kimi would beg the other boy to spare him from the pain that he was already going through, but all he could do was tremble in the water, his world narrowed down to that sweet, merry voice. Then, it started.

The boy began to talk. The language was the same as the sound of water moving and Kimi felt the water around them stir, tremble and shiver like a human being or a great animal would do. It grew colder and it enveloped him like a tight second skin, Kimi had never felt something like this. It was as if he was being sucked into a glass bell jar, his ears popping, and his eyes starting to burn. But this was the tolerable part.

Suddenly, a flash of light flooded his eyes and he saw the golden girls around him, this time silent, looking on at him in awe, in fear. With that sight came such a ferocious pain from deep within his own core that he started to scream like had never done before. His voice hurt his own ears, but even that was not enough to express the magnitude of what he was going through. He was trashing madly, but the water had hands and it kept him in place, causing great fear in him, making him think that this torture was inescapable and infinite.

His whole body was out of his control, something worked in his veins, in his marrows, shred by shred, bit by tiny bit. He believed that he was bleeding from his ears, eyes and nose; all his hair was uprooted and nails were being pulled. The girls watched.

He didn’t know how long the pain lasted, but when it subsided, he was surrounded by a blue light, soft and cold and comfortable. He snuggled deeper into the embrace of the other boy, listening to his mysterious words. He felt boneless, he felt as if he was one with the water, as if he was lying among cool sheets of the finest silk. As the boy was washing his eyes, he was crying softly, burrowing to the crook of the other’s neck, this time finding the power to return his embrace, making the boy laugh.

“I think you feel quite alright now, huh, Kimi?” The merry voice asked and he shivered, rejuvenated, completely cleansed, and completely new. Kimi just hummed and nuzzled his cheek to the other, making him laugh again. It was unbelievable how he felt as if he wasn’t the one who had gone through all that torment for two months. But he was alright now. All he wanted was this wonderful feeling of being surrounded by water and being in the other’s arms to continue as he' sleep and sleep.

“Remember, Kimi.” The voice called to him, clearing his mind from the impending sleep for a moment. “When you wake up, come and see this lake, okay? Thank it for lending me its hand. Thank it for granting us life.” 

He hummed again and held onto his savior as if he’d never let go and he was thankful that until the moment that he lost consciousness, the other let him cling, petting his hair, cooing to him in that strangely beautiful language of his.

* * *

When Kimi woke up five days later, he was overwhelmed. He could see again, his eyes didn’t hurt and his fever was gone. Taking all these in required some time as his guardians doted on him, happy and thankful that their prince was healthy again, their eyes tearful. But what Kimi wanted to see more than anything was that other boy who had cured him. 

He did not remember most of what happened in his delirium, but he recalled those cool hands, life giving, merciful, gentle, pure and powerful. He could remember that sweet merry voice talking to him, asking and telling him things, laughing, chirping in a language he didn’t know, calming and encouraging him. He knew that he was someone around his age, maybe a bit younger, but had so much inner strength and so much generosity. He wanted to touch the other again, see for himself if he really felt as crystal cool as he remembered, see if life would flow to him where he’d touch him. But… The boy was gone.

What jarred Kimi more was the adults telling him that they did not see any shimmering blue light, no stirring of water or anything otherworldly as Kimi had experienced. All they saw was the boy washing their prince as he murmured a spell like thing and their prince screaming and thrashing about in the shallow bank of the lake.

Kimi had never been more disappointed than he was now, both with himself and with the turn of the events, doubting his sanity. Was everything a fever induced dream or what? He didn’t even get to see the boy even though he had wanted to do it so much that it hurt.

“How was he like?” He asked, deciding that he’d keep the meager memory of what he had experienced to himself to be not labeled as mad.

“He was a sweet kid, always smiling, his eyes twinkling.” They’d say. “He was small just like you. He was amazing. He cured you and looked after you for two days here.”

“But how was he like?” He questioned again, meeting uncomprehending eyes.

“He was a gentle boy. He was…”

“His eyes? His hair? His name?” Kimi interrupted in a rare show of impatience.

And the adults looked at each other in a slowly dawning horror, realizing that they remembered nothing about the boy who cured their prince. “We… We didn’t ask his name, yes… But... I don’t quite remember if he had brown hair or blonde hair.” Rosberg muttered in shock.

“Neither do I…” Norris joined, slapping his forehead in self deprecation. “What kind of horrifying people that we have met! I can’t believe how unguardedly we had trusted them. We were jinxed by them!”

“Horrifying?” Kimi protested. “But I am cured!” The Beys had nothing to say to that, understanding that their guests probably had a reason for secrecy. “I hope you have rewarded them accordingly.”

Rosberg’s eyebrows rose in dejection. “They didn’t take it no matter how much money we had offered to them. The boy refused my every offer, but I gifted them a pair of janbiya that my grandfather had made by hand, my prince.”

Kimi nodded, bowing his head. He really wanted to meet that boy. It was such a desire that it ached as if the other boy threw a hook and caught one of his heartstrings and wherever he was going now; he was dragging that thread connected to his heart and pulling at it, making it twinge. But he couldn’t voice any of it, marveling at the maddening sensation that the water left on his skin. He wondered would it still be the same if he’d swim in that lake that he was cured in. He promised himself to visit it, not because he remembered the words of the boy, but simply because he was curious.

Yet the biggest of the shocks was yet to come. After he recuperated for over a week, getting his energy back enough to travel again, he stepped outside in the morning as the sun was about to rise.

What he saw made him fully come to terms with the fact that he was completely crazy. The girls were back, they appeared out of thin air as the sun shone on them, as if making them visible to the eye slowly. They were all looking at him with awe in their eyes. Then one of them fell onto her kneels and reverenced him.

"Good morning, our King! Bid us whatever you will!"

All the other girls knelt, too, and repeated the same thing, looking up at him, waiting for him to acknowledge them.

Later, Kimi was going to learn that he was actually quite sane even though he was the only one who could see and hear the girls. They were named Arinna, servants of their Sun God, and he could command them. 

As he grew up, he realized that not only the sun maidens, but also the fire djinns, called Ifreeth, would do his bidding -yet not always with the same level of loyalty and obedience.

But for now, he chose to run back to their earthen house to hide there until he found the courage enough to face them, the girls laughing at his retreating back fondly.

TBC…

* * *

**Khalat** is a loose long sleeved outher robe, short like a jacket or long like a mantle, made from cotton or silk. 

**Turban** is a head wear, generally made from long pieces of cloth, worn by men and woman alike with different wrapping styles, varying in shape and color.

**Janbiya** is a distinctly shaped, curved dagger used among Arabic cultures, worn under the belt on the side of the user.

**Arinna** is the name of the Hittite Sun Goddess. In this universe, it is the umbrella term used for the maidens of the Sun God that is worshipped in Shalbatana and some other countries bordering it. They distribute the rays of the sun, giving life to everything, looking out for the fertility and longevity of the lands, people, and animals.

**Ifreeth** is a fire djinn/demon. In this universe they generally live in the hearts of the houses, they are territorial and generally disobedient. They can be a source of warmth, safety, and light while also be the cause of great misfortune and destruction.


	2. Chapter 2

This could be dysentery, bilharzia or even cholera.” Sebastian muttered in agitation, rubbing the back of his neck. He was sitting beside the bed of two sick children, harsh sunlight beating through the open windows and the door.

The kids were boys around the age of six or seven. When Sebastian had entered the house, they looked so gaunt and pale that for a moment, he had thought they were dead. The boys were barely awake, having trouble in breathing and running a severe fever.

Sebastian’s eyebrows drew together. “How long have they been like this?”

An old woman, the grandmother of the kids answered, her voice laden with worry and sadness. “More than a week... They have bloody diarrhea, too.” She bowed her snow white head in hopelessness, tears in her eyes.

“Uncover them.” Sebastian watched as the village chief helped the old woman undress the kids. The boys' abdomens looked bloated on their right side and there were skin lesions here and there on their legs and feet as if they itched severely. “Turn the boys around.” He said, slowly coming to a diagnosis. “There it is. The spleen of this boy looks larger than normal.” Sebastian nodded at the village chief to cover the trembling boys. “Are we close to the irrigation canals? I didn't see any when we entered from the north.”

The chief looked confused. “There is one that go around the edge of the village, on the east.”

“The water is mostly stagnant in the canals this time of the year here.” Sebastian made the connection in his head. “You let the kids play around the water?” He asked incredulously, but mostly with the disappointment of someone who had become used to hearing the answer.

The other man helplessly gazed back at Sebastian. “Yes, but what has it got to do with this?”

“Pierre, go and ask the parents of the other kids if they have the same symptoms as the boys here and if they let them play around the irrigation canals.”

Pierre, who had been sitting near Sebastian silently all through this, nodded his head determinately and sprang to his feet. “I'm on it!”

“Find me at the village square.” And before Sebastian even got up from the ground, the younger boy was out. “Please take me to the canal. The children of this village have caught bilharzia, the snail fever.”

The old woman gasped and visibly shivered at the news, her tired shoulders sagging further. Sebastian felt the familiar twinge in his heart at the sight of the grandmother’s misery. He sighed, correcting his two janbiya daggers and covered them with his biege overcoat. Before he left the house, he turned to the old woman and smiled encouragingly at her. “Boil some water and let it cool down. Make the boys drink it as much as you can, Granny. I’ll cure them for you, I promise.” And finally, his words put a little hope on her worry-wrinkled face.

Sebastian exited the earthen house, walking briskly with the village chief side by side, passing other houses and small gardens towards the irrigation canal.

The village was a relatively big one, on the outskirts of Ain, in the Kingdom of Shalbatana. Even though Shalbatana was the sworn enemy of where Sebastian came from, he liked wandering around this kingdom's edge, so close to the Great Desert. The air was acrid here during this season; agriculture was not thriving even though there were irrigation canals around.

The canals were coming from the dam built on the major water supply of not only Shalbatana, but also Kissaara up north. Now there was a moderately sized lake on River Arda within Shalbatana's borders, cutting the water flow to Kissaara into a quarter of what it used to be. Thus, ever since the dam had been constructed, an animosity of unparalleled proportions was born between this kingdom and Kissaara. A conflict over water... And water was the most valuable commodity of all.

Sebastian's face scrunched up in deep thought. The dam was a natural disaster in the making, but apparently the authorities in Shalbatana thought otherwise. This outbreak of bilharzia around the irrigation canals during the late summers had been around for three years. Considering the dam was nearly 10 years old, one would have thought that by now the authorities of the kingdom would be aware of the possibilities of outbreaks in water based illnesses. But nothing was done; no precautions were taken, no care at all was given other than trying to grow more and more food to feed the ever hungry people.

Sebastian uttered a small  _ tch _ sound between his clenched teeth as they approached the canal. Just like others he had seen before, it was dug deep into the hard soil, lined with stones and banks that were made with admittedly fine masonry. But they were not protected against the elements, especially the sun and the debris picked up by the desert winds. 

Sebastian knew that the canals running through all five city centers of Shalbatana were covered. But here, closer to the southern border where water was not used for irrigation but mainly for drinking and everyday needs, the canals were unprotected.

Was it a matter of lack of enough resources, namely money, or inconsideration and bad planning, Sebastian honestly didn't know. Yet, what it caused was apparent and soul wrenching for Sebastian to witness. The stream in the canal was dead and so was the water.

He came closer. The earth was mucky with water that drained from the masonry, parasitic useless flora was thriving on the banks of the canal. The water was mostly still, only a very small flow was visible and that was blocked here and there by moss, stones, and unsurprisingly, garbage. This angered Sebastian, so much so that he clenched his hands into tight fists.

“They don't let much water in summer from the dam, I can understand that, but couldn't you people keep the canals free of debris and garbage?” He spat, causing the chief to flinch. “How could you let the kids play here?”

There was ashamed silence from the chief as his answer. Sebastian looked on in rage for a few seconds more and then tsked and stomped around, inspecting the premises with the stick the chief had brought. There were tadpoles in the water and snails in the foliage, some foul smell arising as he poked around.

The water was dead. It was silent. And nothing saddened Sebastian more than that.

He turned towards the chief and squarely gazed into the older man's bleak eyes. “I will cure your children, Chief.” He said. “But you'll do as I say from now on, without a question. Do we have a deal?” He cocked his head to the side and narrowed down his blue eyes.

The older man joined his hands together at the front in complete resignation and bowed his head a bit in respect. “As you wish, Bey.”

Within a few hours, most of the villagers were gathered in the village square and were listening to Sebastian.

“You have to clean the canal and keep it as free of debris and garbage as possible. Though I understand, the slow flow of the stream is not your fault, but you are making things worse by polluting what feeds your wells and the underground water.”

A few mutterings and grunts were heard among the crowd, Sebastian hearing some of them.

_ It is not our job. _

_ Why should we do the dirty work? _

_ Aren't we already suffering enough? _

Sebastian got incensed upon the words, but his friend Pierre's worried face stopped him from getting back at the others. “If you poison the water, the water will poison you in retaliation, what did you expect?” He admonished harshly, forgetting for a moment that he had to be more constructive. 

He sighed, his anger withering when he thought about the sick kids. “Clean the canal, keep it as such. Boil your water, keep your hands and food clean, prevent anyone from meddling with the canal, and don’t let the kids go near them. Bilharzia is not the only contagious illness that comes from water. During the arid season, when the water is still, I suggest you to look out for your animals. Provide them with fresh water, too.” And he talked and talked. As he taught the villagers, the people respected him even more, running around to find the herbs and other curative things that Sebastian asked for.

It was tedious work, but finally Sebastian managed to prepare enough herbal cure for all the sick people. There were ten children and three adults -the parents of some of the children. As he had promised, Sebastian was at the old woman's house. 

Granny's house shared a well with five other surrounding cottages and Sebastian and Pierre were now standing before it.

“I'm seriously losing my faith in humanity, Pierre...” Sebastian was complaining, totally dispirited and appalled. “They have upset this village's Arank to such an extent that it refuses to come out.” In a flourish, he sat on the ground, crossing his arms on his chest in annoyance.

Pierre neared the well which was reaching up to his mid-thighs, chancing a glance into its dark depths with wonder in his eyes.

“Don't lean in too much, you might fall.” Sebastian warned distractedly, startling the other and causing him to actually lose his balance for a few seconds there. But the boy quickly got a hold of himself and fell back to the ground right next to Sebastian, before the other could get up and help him.

“Pierre!..” Sebastian admonished the younger one good naturedly and Pierre broke into a series of apologies for scaring the other.

“It's alright, it's alright.” Sebastian huffed, but his mood quickly turned sour again. “It is just that if you'd fall into it, I wouldn't be able to save you. It is so riled that it would have trapped you until you'd drown.” He sighed again.

“This kind of things didn't use to happen often, did they, Seb?” Pierre asked, looking back at the well not with fear but with pity.

“Ever since that dam came into use, the water in the river basin is irritated... The Arank on the edge of the Great Desert are getting furious and upset day by day.” Sebastian straightened as he breathed with determination and closed his eyes before burying his fingers into the hard earth up to the last knuckles near the well.

Pierre watched him sit still in concentration and he didn't dare utter a single word as he waited for Sebastian to give his verdict upon the situation. Sebastian's lips were moving in a silent language that Pierre doubted anyone other than its speaker understood. It looked as if he was in a heated debate with someone. Pierre knew what Sebastian was doing and that it required patience and time.

As the sun started to set behind them, Pierre continued guarding Sebastian, not making a noise, nor moving.

After more than half an hour, the water in the well started to make bubbling and splashing sounds and Sebastian took a very deep breath, opening his eyes and releasing his hold on the dry earth. “Pierre, will you get some water for me from the well?” He looked a bit tired, but satisfied.

“Yes!” Elated by Sebastian's happiness, Pierre started to enthusiastically turn the sweep, bringing up a bucket of water with a bluish bright light that only Sebastian could see accompanying it.

Sebastian smiled as he heard a meek, animal like noise saluting him. “Good to see you, He nodded, answering to a salutation that only he could hear.

* * *

Kimi watched his men unload the goods from the animals.

They were in the country of Belili, the largest kingdom on this side of the Desert. Kimi hated the place with all his might, because there was not a shred of humidity in the air. But this hatred was not solely reserved to this country. In fact, there were few places that Kimi liked at all which were all far away from the seemingly endless desert that covered the south of the continent. Yet, life was cruel and you never knew where you'd end up at.

Belili was a desert country; its cities were all huddled around large oases. This city, Nefer, that they regularly brought their goods to was one of them. 

Nefer was a bustling trading center, vivid with energy, where trouble was abundant, because thievery and fraudulence were common practices. And never forget that the city was a crossroads for human trafficking of documented and undocumented kind.

Kimi leaned against the granite pillar of the storehouse building, overlooking his men's work in the yard as animal after animal was unloaded and led away by the men towards their inn.

The storehouse belonged to him; a large administrative building behind heavy doors and a beautiful yard with a fountain in the middle of it. Below this grandiose was a huge underground depository where the unloaded goods were now categorized and taken to. 

Kimi was one of the few people who owned something like this. It seemed like a privilege, but it actually had cost him quite a lot. This building and his permission to do commerce in the country were granted by the annual tribute that he paid to Belili's ruler.

Whichever big city he traded with, he had a building like this in there. People that knew him thought that he was rich enough to buy a kingdom, which was technically correct. But he didn't look it in the least. In fact, he looked more like a cold blooded young bandit and he consciously fed the idea with the long kilij strapped boldly to his belt and his turban sinisterly fashioned around his head and over his face. None of the Beys wore less than adorned kaftans or silk bishts, but Kimi wore a simple vest under a loose piece of cloth folded around his shoulders for sun protection. His dark gray shalvar was comfortable and it was all that mattered. Ostentatious clothes were an invitation to robbery and death and the bandits were ever ready.

Last five of the camels were now free of their burden and led out by a man as Nico, his childhood friend, approached him with a thick roll of paper, a portable ink holder and a pen in his hands. He deposited the items on the small table Kimi had been standing beside and motioned to a wooden chair for him to sit.

“We have finished the documentation, Kimi.” Nico sat down next to his friend and fanned his face a bit. The afternoon sun was sweltering and Kimi's sour mood was not helping the matter either. Nico smiled knowingly at that. “Stop eying the fountain, I ordered the servants to empty it until the night fall.”

Kimi huffed and turned his head around in mild annoyance. It was irresistible to him, to jump into any kind of water body wherever he saw one. Even though he knew soaking in the decorative fountain pool among so many strangers and his men was inappropriate, Kimi couldn't help it.

“Wait for a bit until we compare and check the sales reports here, Kimi.” Nico continued to smile. “I promise that we'll sneak to the edge of the oasis tonight.”

Now that did the trick and made Kimi's sea green eyes sparkle. Motivated enough with the promise, he pulled the documents towards himself and started to study them, Nico watching him with a fond and gentle look.

They sat there until the night fall, the manager of the storehouse accompanying them with more paperwork and transaction register books. Nico and Kimi checked and compared not only their caravan's documents but all the other ones belonging to Shalbatana's trade, collected and managed from this particular storehouse. It was a very tiring work, but Kimi had to survey it as the legal owner of them all.

By dinner time, Kimi was bored out of his wits but things were in order. They ate lightly and made the short work for the inn that their men stayed at before they left with horses to the edge of the city.

Actually, the city never slept, but the nights were really cool. The clear skies were sucking the warmth of the desert to the point that it was sometimes quite chilly. Around two am, it was the coolest and most people preferred to get a shuteye whilst it was cool enough to sleep. Now was Kimi's chance.

As expected of Nico, he was ready with two dark horses at the stables, giving the reigns of one to Kimi. 

They were out and unsurprisingly not the only ones around. The bazaar was still noisy, some vendors were resupplying, some were packing up and some were opening their tents and stands for the next day. But it was a subdued noise and much more tolerable than the wild commotion of the day time.

“There is no moon tonight.” Nico observed, his light blue eyes lost in the sky as they rode in a calm pace through the city towards the end of the oasis. “It feels eerie.”

“So that's why Nicholas is following us.” Kimi commented without even looking back.

“Arnall volunteered himself and being prepared never hurts, right? Only traders, drunks and bandits are outside this time of the night.”

“Then pretend we are bandits, too.”

Nico smiled at the monotonously uttered answer. “Maybe we should consider changing our profession.”

“I don't care as long as I can travel to find new places to swim in.” Kimi urged his horse to pick up the pace now that they were pretty far away from the busy places.

Nico sighed in mock exasperation behind his friend, letting the other gain on him. He was used to hearing those words, because water meant everything for his friend, for their country. But water, like a capricious lover, eluded Kimi. That was the single most reason why they had become tradesmen, abandoning their titles, growing up in caravans, wandering the continent from the coasts up in the north to the desert down in the south. They had been to many places but had never lingered at one place for too long. They saw their own country less frequently than they saw some other places. All because Kimi loved water, but his love wasn't reciprocated much.

Nico spurred his horse on, too, and before long, they were at the downstream of the oasis. 

As expected, Kimi jumped down his horse and quickly shed what little he had been wearing and without a care, he dove into the water. 

Nico huffed and looked around, trying to spot any prying eyes or danger. 

Arnall kept his distance but he climbed down from his horse, too, hand resting on his wide kilij, his eyes alert. Nico nodded to him and took their horses to the nearest tree, tying their reigns to it.

“Isn't it cold?” He asked his friend.

“No.” Kimi shrugged as expected. 

Nico knew that even if it was chilling, his friend wouldn't utter a single word of complaint. That much was Kimi's need to swim.

He walked towards the bank of the water and crouched down precariously on the edge of the stream among the still green foliage. This place was their regular spot in Nefer and never before had they been caught or disturbed. Since they were downstream and didn't dirty the water, there was nothing to complain. And even if there was, Kimi's gold pouch solved many problems. Also one should never underestimate the persuasive power of the one hundred armed men at his disposal. No wonder they had never been bothered before by anyone who had heard of them.

But the air around them was still and there wasn't much nocturnal noise other than what Kimi's movements in the water caused. Nico gazed about worriedly, but didn't utter a word in consideration of his friend's rarely found enjoyment. He tried to suppress his nervousness by petting the greenery around, hearing their tiny whispers as he did so.

“You should swim, too, Nico.” Kimi swam towards him, all aware of his friend's turmoil.

Nico restlessly shrugged. “No, not tonight. Maybe tomorrow.”

“You are so easily spooked.” Kimi shook his head to clear his blond hair from his eyes. There was a half smile on his lips.

Upon his friend's words, Nico looked sideways with a self derisive smile of his own. “You enjoy yourself.”

Kimi shrugged and swam further. He understood Nico's concern, but the water was simply too divine for him to care. It was cool and enveloped him like a luxurious silk sheet, driving away the memory of the day's unpleasant hotness. It was deep; his feet thankfully didn't reach the understandably slimy mud floor of the stream. And the current was not strong. For him, this was the definition of peace. He turned on his back and willed himself to stay still, letting the water carry him, looking up at the huge stars dotting the pitch black heavens.

“Where shall we go next, Nico?” He asked suddenly.

Startled a bit from his silent exchange with a little water lily that he found on the shallow side of the stream, Nico looked at Kimi in surprise. “We came here this morning.” His eyebrows drew together as if he was exasperated. But he knew what Kimi meant and turned his eyes towards the skies, too. It was like a velvet sea, decorated with pearls and diamonds. “Maybe it is time to breathe in some salty sea air...” He contemplated aloud, voicing Kimi's thoughts. “Why not, actually...” It wasn't a question, but a decision.

The water splashed and Kimi turned back to swimming, hiding his small relieved smile in the water. “Then it is settled.”

* * *

Pierre was crouching at the entrance of the Granny's house, his head resting on his fisted hands in deep concentration. He was watching the night sky with narrowed eyes. No moon was present to shed a bit of illumination to the sleeping village.

Sebastian was tending to the old woman's grandchildren, helping them slowly drink spoonful after spoonful of the mixture that he had prepared earlier. He knew that the other children and the adults were getting the same treatment as he had instructed their caregivers earlier.

The night was quite chilly, but thankfully Granny was spry enough to stay awake and provide them with a fire going in the heart and some herbal tea steeping on the stove.

“You'll get cold.” Sebastian warned his younger friend without dividing his attention from his work. The other youth didn't answer, which was something rare, considering he'd always be all ears if Sebastian would say something to him. “You must be chilled to the bone. Come inside.” Sebastian tried again.

Even though late, this time an answer came. “Seb, there is something wrong with the night.”

That made Sebastian stop and turn towards his friend. “How wrong?” He asked cautiously, but calmly to not frighten the old woman.

Pierre had a very keen sense of danger and generally when he felt disturbed, something would really go wrong. This trait of his saved them many times from really crappy situations. Thus, Sebastian always heeded Pierre's concerns.

“Something is out there...” Pierre turned back to Sebastian with a grim expression on his face. “Bidding its time.”

Now that was not good. Sebastian closed his eyes and called upon the Arank of the well back to him. When he concentrated enough, he shuddered with a feeling of foreboding. “The water is disturbed, too.” He grimaced. They had just come to this village and without a moment of respite, they were probably going to be in grave trouble. “That something... Is it a pack of wolves or jackals? Hyaenas?” He hoped it was so.

“No… The birds would have told me if it was so.”

Sebastian turned towards the old woman, standing up. “Granny, put that fire out.” He instructed and did the same to the small oil lamps. “We should get the kids to the inner room and stay guard here.”

Pierre immediately got up to help, carrying the kids and their bedding into the storeroom of the small house together with Sebastian.

The old woman tried to go out to warn her neighbors, but Sebastian persuaded her to stay with her kids. If something would happen, then there was no way to warn the others without creating a commotion to attract and spur their assaulter into action.

Sebastian gave her the rest of the medicine and told her to lock and barricade the door from behind. The wooden thing was a flimsy barrier, but maybe its poor condition would be a distraction.

By now, Pierre's short kilij was unsheathed and they were hiding in the shadows, the door of the house closed. 

To his younger's horror and indignation, Sebastian was still sipping the tea that the grandmother had made for them from the earthen cup. He was used to Pierre's reactions to his antics by now. Since he got a certain thrill from danger and besting something or someone that was probably stronger than him, he had to divert his attention with something to keep focused. There was nothing to do other than waiting. Not even the nocturnal noises were present and the well at the back of the house felt like a graveyard.

Sebastian berated himself for not realizing this danger sooner, but there would have been little he could have done then, since he wasn't someone to leave the villagers to their own devices after promising them to cure their sick. He took another sip from from the hot tea, his eyes trained to the dim light coming from the windows that they were crouching under.

A silent shadow passed.

He shared a tense glance with Pierre and unsheathed the janbiya strapped to the front of his belt. 

Neither of them were breathing as another shadow stopped in front of the window that Pierre was hiding under. Sebastian put the earthen cup down and nodded to his friend just in time the door was opened.

A burly man with a thick pala in hand entered the house. Unexpected from someone of his size, he was quiet like a mouse. The man took a few steps into the thick darkness of the room and Sebastian waited to see if he would lose interest and go out. But no, he advanced in more, ever ready to kill whatever moved within the dark.

Sebastian let Pierre take him out. The slim youth was so agile, so quick that even though he made some noise in his charge, the other man had no time to raise that heavy pala and strike. Pierre landed two long slashes on him and for good measure, stabbed his heart when the guy fell to the floor like a potato sack. One would not have pegged Pierre as strong, because he was still a teenager, but he was quick to carry the dead man aside into the shadows, too.

Just then, another man entered and it looked like he was a bit puzzled, as if wondering where the hell his friend had gone to. This one was carrying a kilij and looked much more alert than his dead partner in crime. He took in a few steps and the first scream pierced the night then, coming from a house really close to where Granny's was.

The man hesitated a bit with the scream and Sebastian took advantage of it. He sprang from his hiding place, attacked to the man's neck whilst he countered his kilij with the other janbiya that he wore at the back of his belt. The man proved to be more talented than his dead friend.

More screams tore the night and the man bellowed at Sebastian in frustration, because Sebastian was a master of using daggers, one hand deflecting the sword, the other attacking the man's unprotected side. He slashed the bandit many times, but apparently he couldn't cut deep enough and the bandit was stouter than he let on. Yet his bellowing brought in more men.

Sebastian kicked his tea mug towards the newcomer. 

Burned and distracted, the bandit got hit in the chest with one of Pierre's short daggers.

Just as Sebastian managed to land a fatal slash to his opponent's neck and killed him, it became quite clear that the commotion that they created in the house was going to draw more people's attention.

Sebastian considered their options. This seemed like a midnight ambush to rob the food and any other valuables that the local people had. Now everywhere was filled with screams, stomping horses and the shouts of the bandits. He knew that if they left the house, they'd be face to face with their attackers. Pierre was the finest warrior one could ask for, but there was only so many the two of them could handle. If they'd stay in the house and waited for the commotion to subside, sooner or later these bandits would come in groups to loot the house and find them and kill them. He shared another glance with Pierre in the momentary stillness and found the same question in his eyes.

_ What should we do? _

He had to be the one who made the decision. He went to the front of the house and looked out of the edge of the window. The bandits were numerous, mostly on foot but there were some riding horses and carrying torches for the others. They were killing the ones that resisted them. Survival instinct kicking in, nearly all the villagers were surrendering and letting their attackers bind them with ropes instead of being slayed. But what made Sebastian shudder was the fact that bandits were taking hostages.

Men were collecting the youth of the village and tying them together. This was a lost cause, Sebastian realized. The kids and the old woman inside were very likely to get away alive, but Sebastian couldn't afford getting caught. He made his decision, and even though it was against his principles, they were going to run away.

He made a hand gesture to Pierre and the younger one immediately caught on. They slithered out together, keeping to the shadows. Their only advantage was the coverage of the moonless night, because there was no foliage around to hide them. Only boulders, rubbish and old wooden and earthen things... And that was not enough.

Keeping to the walls of the gardens, Sebastian aimed to the murky and smelly irrigation canal on the east, hoping to hide in it until the raiders would leave the perimeters. They saw one of the date palms and the clothes and animal skins beside it catching fire. The tumult that it fed helped them to advance for a bit, but somebody noticed them.

The attack was quick. It was do or die now, so Sebastian ruthlessly fought. This time the man was really good with his swordplay and Sebastian didn't dawdle. He simply stabbed his opponent at the first opening he saw, but their fight drew in more bandits. 

Pierre was trying to keep up with two men at the same time and Sebastian immediately went for his help. He grabbed a still burning torch from the ground and threw it with a good aim. It hit one of Pierre's attackers squarely and lit him on fire. Taking advantage of the surprise, Pierre drew his sword through the other man.

But more and more came, cornering them to a small garden. Suddenly, a rider jumped off the wall of the garden that Pierre had been standing close to keep his back safe and he saw the rider aiming a thin but very well made lance towards Sebastian. When he realized that Sebastian's attention was on the next attacker, without second guessing himself, Pierre lunged to the huge animal and made a shrill sound with his mouth, frightening the animal mid action and cutting the leg of the rider in motion. 

The horse ramped mightily and the man on it, unable to control himself due to the pain, lost balance and fell down, but right down onto Pierre. 

Sebastian only witnessed the half of the event from where he was fighting and heard Pierre howling in pain and disappear among the shadows.

Even though he knew he shouldn't have, Sebastian panicked upon seeing that and hearing that pain filled scream coming from his friend. He dodged another swipe of his opponent's sword and ducked and turned unbelievably quick, practically gutting the other like prey. 

He rushed to where Pierre was lying trapped under the dead weight of the fallen rider. But, distracted by the urge to save his younger, he saw the bandit hiding on the corner of the cottage too late. A thick wooden stick was broken on his back and he fell, too, his sight blackening due to the pain. Another hit at the back of his head and the last thing he saw was Pierre's crumpled body before he joined him in unconsciousness.

The next time he woke up, Sebastian had a tremendous headache and backache where he had been hit. His body's natural response was heaving and he actually threw up what little he had eaten that night. He could hear crying around him and colors were swimming, but he was conscious enough to remember what had happened and what was awaiting him next. He tried to sit up, coughing and when he managed it, his world slowly turned steady and marginally less painful.

There were lots of young people around him, males and females, all tied together, shackled on arms and legs with chains. 

"Damn, damn it all!" He swore quietly and searched for Pierre. He didn't have to look far; his friend was lying on the hard ground behind him, whimpering in pain. He tried to reach the other in worry to understand what ailed him, but with a vicious crack, he was whipped on his back. He stopped himself from yelping and looked up in animalistic anger, his instincts kicking in and governing him.

“Stay put, you little shit!” A bald, dirty man grinned down at him with an oiled whip and a long kilij in his hand. “Or I'll cut you and your friend. I don't care how much we could make out of you!”

Sebastian growled at the dirty guard and inched towards Pierre even as he got whipped for it again. When he stilled, the man walked away to the other end of the lane, swearing under his breath. He nudged the other youth gently with his foot and Pierre looked up, the sadness on his face surpassing the pain he was feeling.

“Bey... I am sorry.” He managed to whisper. “Because of me...”

Sebastian stopped him. “No. Don't think like that.” He looked around to see if anyone was watching. “Your ribs?” He asked, seeing the other was nursing his right side carefully.

Pierre nodded. “That rider used me as a cushion.”

Sebastian bit on his lip and looked around again. There were twelve young people other than the two of them, huddling together on the edge of the village. Armed men were carrying sacks of villagers' food supply, wheat, oil, date and dried meat. They were carrying refilled skins, most probably with water and wine. Now that Sebastian carefully counted, there were fifty-two men around, eighteen of them on horseback. There were ten camels, being loaded with the stolen goods of the villagers. Sebastian knew that together with Pierre they had killed six men. Then this party most probably had been consisting of sixty bandits.

Escaping seemed impossible among this many armed men with their shackles and Pierre being wounded. These people were no simple bandits, they were slave traders. None of the youths around him was harmed whilst some villagers were laying around wounded or worse, dead. But most of the villagers were alive, held back by drawn swords and spears, getting hit if somebody tried to reach for their children or their goods. Unsurprisingly, the sick were not taken. Sebastian sincerely hoped that they weren't killed because they weren't of any use for the bandits.

“What will we do?” Pierre asked even though he knew there was no answer. Their weapons were taken; he didn't doubt that their money pouches and a few small trinkets that they had been wearing were robbed off them, too.

“We'll bid our time.” Sebastian answered, not believing that they had even a bit of a chance. They were probably going to be taken to the nearest big market place and sold there even though they were all freemen.

There was this widely accepted regulation which dictated that the people who were caught during the wars by either of the warring sides could be enslaved. They could be bought back by their homeland to be set free or sold to other parties to gain war prize. But everyone knew that anyone you might catch by any means or under any circumstances was a potential commodity for you to trade. You just had to know where to tuck in some money in the slave registration offices.

“Get up! Get up! Get up!” The bald man and another short but sturdy one approached them, kicking and whipping the sitting youth onto their feet. More men with their faces hidden behind tightly wound clothes joined them and within a few minutes everyone was ready to go, to where, Sebastian could only guess. He helped Pierre get up and taking advantage of the commotion, he checked his friend's wounded side as good as he could under the circumstances.

There seemed to be a swelling but not bad enough to not probe yet, Pierre was a tough warrior, he didn't even utter a single sound as Sebastian checked for any broken bones. As far as Sebastian could tell, there were some, probably three, fractured bones and one of them was possibly broken. This was nothing immediately life threatening but mostly a big hindrance. Pierre was going to be in a lot of pain for a while.

“Just walk, don't resist them. Let's see what we can do.” Sebastian advised him and patted his arm to reassure the teen even though he knew they needed some miracle to escape from his situation. The way their chains were connected permitted them to walk side by side, so Sebastian let the other youth lean on him to save his energy.

Whips cracked and screams heard, the villagers trying to attack the bandits. But they had none of it. The bandits simply wounded or killed anyone who was brave and fool enough to resist them. Their leader, a tall man with a vicious scar on his naked chest threatened them by burning their village down and promised to come back later as a dark omen.

They walked.

The bandits were fast travelers and they didn't stop even under the ruthless midday sun. They talked among themselves very little, but from what Sebastian could hear he understood that these men were mostly from Shalbatana. These scum were pillaging and enslaving their own people. One of the girls they took seemed to be only ten years old. All of them were frightened, thirsty and hungry; their future taken away from them. There were few things that were as despicable as these men and their so called profession. Sebastian was shaking with rage, but that was all he could do.

Pierre was faring better than he'd initially hoped and he now knew where they were headed to. In southeast laid Nefer in the country of Belili. They were to be sold there and nothing came to Sebastian's mind to avoid that fate.

* * *

The bandits sold them to a slave trader who was camping on the border of Belili. The man had his own armed guards and he was quite a chatterbox, sleazy and cunning. He made a really hard bargain with the chief of the outlaws. He personally checked his purchases and for a moment Sebastian feared for Pierre. The boy looked paler and his pain was visible on his face. He was a liability in his state and these merciless people could kill him or worse, use him for unutterable things until he'd die. But the thin man started to play with his mustache as soon as he saw the two friends. Sebastian had never felt himself dirtier than when the man touched his chest and face to inspect him. It required inhuman strength to not resist or attack the man then and there.

It was the evening of the second day of their captivity and they had been walking nearly forty hours with so little water, nothing to eat and a few moments of rest every now and then. When the chief of the bandits took his money and left them, the sun was hiding behind the dunes of the desert. They were ushered to a large tent, their shackles remaining. Fortunately, they were given water and food since the trader wanted his merchandise to be in perfect condition. That was when Sebastian had time to actually check Pierre's injury. 

The young man had a large, purple bruise on his right side, swollen. Sebastian made him bite into a piece of cloth to keep him from screaming and prodded the swell for real as he made the other do several things to shift the bones and listened to his breathing. Yes, there was a broken bone, but thankfully it was of the easily mending kind. Pierre needed lots of rest and some strong painkillers. He needed to sleep and keep that bruised side as stable as possible.

Sebastian had been carrying some balms he had made for this kind of painful situations, herbs to ease the the pain and help sleeping, but together with everything he had, they were stolen, too. Then again, if only he had running water, water that was still alive, he could help his friend out immediately, but the land that they were stopping at was acrid. 

He tore his overcoat into long stripes and bandaged Pierre's torso as well as he could after sending his power to his friend's side with his touch, relieving his breathing a bit. The other was apologizing profusely, ashamed of failing Sebastian and getting them into this situation, but Pierre had saved his life by stopping that spear wielding rider. Sebastian could and would never blame him. What their real concern was how to get away from these people.

Sebastian observed and waited patiently, there was no way to shake off trained manhunters in desert on foot. But in a city, they had more chance even though one of them was injured. He ate whatever was given to him, made Pierre eat and drink his fill, too, to keep their strength. Nefer was less than two days away and that was where Sebastian made his move.

* * *

In the morning of the fourth day of their capture, the trader got them into the city. By midday, they were in the bazaar. Their ankle shackles were taken to let the skin heal from them, presumably to raise their appeal. And the chains were replaced with a sturdy rope, tying them from the shackles on their hands. The guards around them walked a bit away from the group and they were made to wear long cape like clothes as if to hide their chains. Sebastian understood, their papers were not ready, yet.

He dared to stray a bit to the side, deliberately bumping to a man and stealing his janbiya from him. He got hit for it and shoved back into the group, but he was already cutting his rope under the cape. Pierre patiently waited for him to pass the blade and when he got it, he made a quick work of his ties, too. Their hands remained shackled, but at least they weren't tied to the group now.

They waited, walking among the crowd, passing by the vendors and the stalls. When a man herding a group of animals, two camels and five horses, came by them, Pierre started to make a musical but very strange sound with his mouth and the horses lost it, attacking the group.

Nobody really understood what happened. Within a few seconds, Sebastian and Pierre got away. Sebastian wounded one of the guards that noticed their escape with the dagger he took back from his friend. But he did it in such a way that the man seemed to have fallen of his own accord. The horses stampeded and ramped as if in anger. The crowd broke into screaming and began running all into different directions. Pierre got hold of a horse and Sebastian threw him onto it, making the other scream in pain. Then he got on, too, smacking its rear harshly to make the horse sprint.

They heard the shrill voice of the tradesman ordering his guards and city patrol to catch them as Sebastian rode the horse into the bazaar, trying to find a quick escape from the city. Pierre was holding onto him but whimpering, the stride of the horse had to be jostling his side. 

Unsurprisingly, whistles were blown. Now alerted, the patrol started to attack them either on horse or on foot, coming out of unpredictable corners and ways. The streets were narrow and truth be told, Sebastian didn't know this city much. He made the horse do wild movements, forcing it to jump over stalls and walls and stacked goods whilst it carried two people on its back. But he was desperate. 

They passed by a very ornate, large pool and a water way. Sebastian whispered under his breath and the water roared to life, flooding the premises and their two followers onto the cobbled street.

Taking advantage of the bewilderment that this caused, Sebastian steered the horse towards whence they had entered the city, but suddenly just when he was passing through a narrow street, a large black net was dropped over them, frightening their horse and causing it to stumble. Even though Pierre tried to calm it down, it ramped wildly and threw Sebastian and Pierre from its back. Sebastian quickly cut the net to shreds and freed himself, but just as he was about to take his friend out, too, he was kicked in the stomach and hit with something wooden on his back.

Not minding the pain even for a bit, he yowled in anger like a mad man when he saw Pierre being hit by a patrol and falling onto his wounded side.

“Pierre! Pierre, don't resist! Don't move!” He was screaming even as he was being beaten by wooden sticks and kicks. His dagger was already knocked out of his hand, he saw Pierre going still, a man forcing him onto his hunches, mercifully no longer hitting the half unconscious teen. But it took a while to subdue Sebastian, his anger and frustration still pumping adrenaline to his system, making him not flinch even a bit against his beating.

“I am a free man, you fools!” He was bellowing. “You are serving to kidnappers and pillagers! Let us go! You can't apprehend free men!” But no one heeded him. He was brought to his knees and his head was forced down, people gathering around the commotion and Sebastian was still struggling, unable to control his ire.

The slave trader came up closer as Sebastian exerted himself futilely, and one of the patrols asked. “These men insist that they are free men. Have you been holding them down forcefully?”

“What a lie!” The thin tradesman shrilly cried. “I have purchased them two days ago. They are war prizes captured in a skirmish on the border of Shalbatana. Look, one of them even has a wound on his side to prove it.” He softly kicked Pierre's leg and a patrol checked him, finding the bandages.

“You are the one lying! You pillager! This man is partner in crime with some bandits! They kidnapped us from our village and sold us to him!”

“Here are their identifications.” Completely unfazed, the sleazy man rubbed his mustache with a dirty smile on his face.

Sebastian looked on with disgusted bewilderment. When the hell the bastard got the papers?

“These seem legitimate enough to me.” The patrol showed the documents to someone else and they both nodded in agreement.

“Those are fake! We are free men! There are twelve other young people together with us! We were kidnapped!” Sebastian desperately explained.

“Then prove who you are. Is there any means of identification on you? Are there any people who could testify for you?”

“Can't you see that we were robbed?!” Sebastian asked, appalled and in disappointment. But even if they hadn't been robbed, Sebastian had not been carrying anything to identify himself with. He could never tell anyone who he or Pierre was. They'd either kill him or make him rot in dungeons whilst they'd use his existence to start a war. This was the risk he'd taken when he had become a wandering healer.

“You can take them.” The patrol let the guards handle Sebastian and Pierre. “But you'll pay for the damages your slaves have caused. And they say one of your men is dead. Is it their doing?”

“Oh, no! No! He is not dead. He is a lucky fool who cut himself when he fell down during the uproar. And I'll pay for the damages, yes.”

If the merchant admitted that Sebastian was the one who injured the guy, Sebastian would be thrown into jail and he couldn't sell him. He could always find new muscle, but he considered Sebastian's youth and beauty as worthy of more than a few lives.

The men took them away, the crowd dispersing, Sebastian unable to believe how close he had been to freedom had he been able to reach the lake of the oasis. Pierre was hanging limply from the arms of the men and he was crushed with the harsh reality of losing his freedom for an unseen amount of time until he could find a way to reach Lewis or Daniel somehow. They would find him and take him to safety from wherever he was, but first, he had to find a way.

* * *

Kimi was sitting under the shade of a coffee house together with Nico and two of his men when he saw the blond menace that stormed the bazaar into mayhem. In that instant, something twisted in his chest, as if a hook was caught by one of his heart strings and the pull threatened to dislodge his heart from his ribcage. The feeling was both painful and somehow nostalgic.

Unable to tear his eyes away, he slowly stood up, the pipe of his hookah falling from his hand and he watched that young man quite possibly wound someone, steal a horse, help a friend and ride away, smoothly cutting through the throng of people, into the narrow labyrinth that was called Nefer. It was such a sight that Nico whistled in awe.

“Arnall, go and learn who that man was and why he did that.”

The said man sprang into action and disappeared quickly upon Kimi's order.

“Kimi?” Nico asked, finding Kimi's order unusual. Normally, Kimi would just observe and turn his back when the commotion would subside, always keeping his distance from things that didn't concern him.

Kimi didn't answer. He calmly sat down and found his pipe again, wiping at the mouthpiece.

“I wonder if he is a slave.” Nico thought aloud, watching his friend's reaction. “He was really fierce.”

Kimi subtly nodded at that and Nico smiled. “I hope we'll see him again soon.” He uttered what was probably Kimi's silent wish and when the said young man narrowed his eyes down at his way without real anger, Nico chuckled. But who knew that his wish would be realized this soon and in such a way.

A few hours later, they were standing before the biggest slave market in the city and that blond young man was forced onto his knees on the platform, hands and feet in heavy chains.

As soon as Arnall returned and told them what he learned about the escaped slave, Kimi left the coffee house to go to the market, Nico following him in great surprise for his sudden interest in the other young man.

The blond slave was covered in bruises, his white shirt torn in the chest area to show the potential customers how strong, healthy and appealing the young man was. But there was actually no need for that. He was a beauty in every sense of the word with that curling hair of his falling in long strands over his face, his eyes in a deep shade of blue, full of life and anger, his teeth fiercely snapped into a growl, muscles wiring under a startlingly beautiful skin for a guy. 

Every person in the crowd showed interest in him for what reason one could only have a guess, but Kimi was not taken in by the physical beauty. In fact, he wasn't even registering it. All he could think was the fact that this young man reminded him of something and he needed to have him by his side until he could name what that thing was.

“Buy him, Nico.” Kimi whispered, covering his face with his turban, clenching his fist.

“What?” Nico looked at his friend as if he was seeing him for the first time. “We don't need more men, Kimi.”

“Buy him.”

That cut the argument into a finality. Nico nodded and joined into the auction. “Twenty-five!” He shouted, upping the gold pieces by two.

Within a few seconds, the bid arose to thirty seven pieces. Numbers were flying over the crowd, the slave visibly shaking in ire or in shame, they didn't know what.

“Forty!” Nico yelled, some people turned and looked at him, some drawing back.

“Fifty!” Came a thin voice, belonging to a tall and a very rich looking lady, winking towards Nico and making the crowd go  _ wow _ .

“Fifty-five.” Nico upped his bid.

“Sixty-five!” A young man, possibly a Bey like Kimi, joined in and the tall lady immediately quipped, “Seventy!”

Now even the slave was looking on at the competition in confusion.

“Give a hundred.” Kimi whispered and Nico hesitated for a bit, turning to his friend. But Kimi's attention was totally captivated by the slave. Nico searched his friend's face and in that instant he saw something there, and finding it reason enough, he nodded his head as if to himself.

“Seventy, then!” The auctioneer reminded.

“A hundred!” He decisively uttered and noises of disbelief and excitement erupted from the crowd. Everyone, even the slave, turned and looked at him, rightfully thinking that he had to be a very rich Bey.

“Anyone else?” The auctioneer asked, “Anyone else?” But no one dared. “Sold!” He declared and the slave was pulled to his feet, dragged towards them with his documents by his handler's side.

Nico and Kimi were welcomed closer to the tent and the other youth procured Kimi's stamp together with a coin pouch, handing the money to Kimi. He signed and filled the documents in Kimi's name and Kimi counted the pieces onto the small table before the slave trader. Nico pocketed his documents and Kimi got hold of the blond slave's chains, tugging him to his side.

One had to see the trader's face. That old man turning so alive as he recounted his money among the safety of his bodyguards... Kimi felt disgusted at the sight and tugged the slave further towards himself, but the slave was not even looking at him. The other youth's eyes were trained on the brown haired boy who was being brought to the platform by two guards like a limp rag doll.

The slave was biting on his lip to the point of making it bleed. “Pierre...” He was trembling as if he was ready to bolt. “Please...” And when the auction started at a low price, the slave turned to them and tried to reason with Nico, thinking that the light blue eyed youth was his master.

“Bey, that's my friend. He is wounded.” He started, making Kimi blink owlishly at him. Nico was surprised, too, but he quickly regained himself and was about to correct the slave when he saw Kimi shake his head.

“These people will either work him to death or torment him in other ways, please buy him, please.” The slave had such a compelling voice and eyes that Nico was easily swayed, but he was no fool.

“What makes you think that I won't do the same if I buy him?” He asked, looking into the other's dark eyes, not seeing anything but truth and straightforwardness there.

“You have kinder eyes than that, Bey.” The slave said with conviction and knelt before him, totally ignoring Kimi and causing him to raise an eyebrow at that.

“I am a healer, he is a groom. We can take good care of your men and animals. I beg of you, he'll slowly die if he's not treated soon. Please, he's the only friend I have left!”

The young man was in such desperation that Nico shared a subtle look with his friend and upon Kimi's approval, he shouted, “Twenty-one!” 

The relief that shone upon the face of the young slave was a sight to behold and Kimi couldn't tear his eyes away from it.

Luckily, the bidding for the other slave stopped at twenty-six pieces and he was brought to them immediately.

While Nico was going through the formalities, Kimi was standing beside the two slaves, watching how the blond one talked the slighter guy into wakefulness like a big brother would do. For some reason, the thinner and shorter slave started to apologize with tears in his eyes as soon as he realized the situation that they were in, but a few gently whispered words made him stop and get serious in a bitter and sad way. Kimi just observed.

“Hey, do you have some water?” The blond slave asked, looking at him directly for the first time. Startled, Kimi just stood there, silently looking back at those dark blue eyes.

The slave cocked his head, confused. “Some water?” He tried for a second time and getting no answer, a very small, derisive smile appeared on that face and the youth talked again. “I know we must be quite a sight for you right now, but I really need some water.”

That smile did something to Kimi and he didn't like it, refusing to acknowledge the feeling. He turned his face away, reaching for his small flask and threw it to the other. The slave got it, helping his friend sip from it slowly. And then he took a few sips, too.

“What is your name?” Kimi asked, surprising himself with his own curiosity, too.

It was as if the slave thought for a second before answering. “I am Sebastian.” He handed the flask back. “He is Pierre.”

“Don't you have family names?”

The other youth's eyes hardened at that. “Is there any need for that when you are a slave?” It actually wasn't a question.

“But your documents say your names are different.” It was Nico speaking. 

Now hearing that angered Sebastian visibly, but he desisted. “That's because those documents are fake, Bey.”

Kimi narrowed down his eyes at that. “Fake or not, we bought you.” He drew the line, tugging at the chain and causing Sebastian to look up at him. Resentment was clear in his eyes and Kimi could see it, but it was the truth. “Now get up and help your friend.” He muttered. 

He was aware that the angle of the shadows and the way he stood was making him a sinister figure not to trifle with. His lower face was covered, too, and he looked terrifying like that. But the blond youth, Sebastian, could have never seemed to be intimidated less. 

He stood up and even though he had been beaten harshly earlier, he let his friend lean on him, carrying nearly all of his weight.

Even though Kimi saw Nico draw his eyebrows together in sympathy for the slaves, he said nothing, his green eyes showed nothing. He purposefully made Nico take the lead, walking before them. He stayed behind a step with Sebastian and Pierre, quietly watching the contemplating look on the other youth's face.

He was trying to find the name of that feeling Sebastian caused within him as they walked towards their inn, but nothing came to him. Even as he puzzled over it in every step they took, it eluded him like a capricious lover did.

* * *

TBC…

**Kilij** is a type of one-handed, single edged and moderately curved saber/sword.

**Pala** is a shorter and sometimes wider kind of kilij.

**Arank** is a water spirit in Turkic mythology. They are believed to be the guardians of any size of water bodies, springs, brooks, rivers and lakes. They don't have definite physical forms. They are pure and innocent in nature and not malicious.

**Shalvar** is a type of unisex comfortable loose trousers, tighter in the ankle area, sewn and worn in many different styles and forms.

**Bisht** is a popular Arabic men's cloak made from thin luxurious flowing fabric, generally worn as a symbol of prestige.

**Kaftan** is a front buttoned embellished coat or overdress sometimes with fur lining or collar, usually knee or ankle length with long sleeves and maybe worn with a sash.


	3. Chapter 3

Not much was uttered during the walk.

Sebastian carried Pierre as best as he could, trying not to inflict more pain to the poor boy’s side. And he used the time to think.

The Bey with light blue eyes, whose name he was yet to learn, was young like all of them, muscled in a lean way as if he himself was a worker, too. He had longish light blonde hair and a tanned skin. He was a very good looking man and if Sebastian was a good judge of people’s character, he bet on that he was not a cruel person. But that idea didn’t negate the feeling of worry that grew in Sebastian’s stomach.

The Bey had spent a great sum of money to get him. Sebastian wondered who’d pay that much gold just to get a common worker or a personal servant. He feared that the Bey was going to use him for things that Sebastian would never suffer through as long as he breathed. Even though the Bey was regally handsome and seemed gentle, for Sebastian, using a slave for sexual means was the basest of the things one could ever fall down to. What was worse than a common slave was a slave who was bought and kept for pleasure as if he was not a sentient being.

How much more twisted could this world get, Sebastian wondered, feeling sicker by the second with the cruelty of the reality. At least, he wasn’t separated from Pierre. Though the teen was technically his bodyguard, he was more than that, he was his friend. Nevertheless, the Bey was merciful enough to buy him, too, even though Pierre probably looked weak and of little to no use to him. Sebastian knew how wrong that notion was.

Putting that aside, the Bey’s servant, or guard or whatever, was not someone ordinary, either. He seemed like a mercenary for hire. The young man was stoic, silent, and deadly sharp. Sebastian could tell that he was a great warrior. One could almost smell something primordial on him. They were nearly the same height, but the other man looked much more flexible, no wonder because of many conflicts and fights he had probably seen. He had a healthy golden hue to his skin and light blond hair that fell a bit over his eyes. That thick kilij he was carrying needed some good muscle work to be of use and Sebastian wondered who’d win if they’d fight.

But there was something that bothered Sebastian more, and that was the young man’s eyes. They were trained firmly on him and Sebastian hated being watched. He tried to rein in his annoyance, to not draw the attention of the Bey walking in front of them, but it was futile. The other had an unblinking gaze, full of wonder, shimmering in a nearly unearthly way. Such infuriatingly green-grey eyes, like the clear surface of an oasis; and he was watching him with the curiosity of a child as if Sebastian was an upturned insect, struggling.

“What?” He snapped, totally mystified by the interest shown to him. Was he that much of a sight?

The servant’s eyes widened for a second before he quickly turned his head away, murmuring with a rough voice. “Nothing…”

Sebastian barely kept himself from hissing in annoyance. He adjusted Pierre on his shoulder and walked along. The constant watch was not the only thing bothering him. Sebastian doubted himself for it, but somehow the other young man seemed to exude warmth. It was a crazy thought, he knew, but Sebastian felt warmer than usual as they walked side by side this closely. It was as if the sun was favoring the other, shining down on him in such a way to complement his imposing figure, catching him in such angles that made him look, dare he say, more elegant and regal than he already was.

_ Such absurdity! _ Sebastian would have laughed at it, had he been alone. Favored by the sun? In a desert? The man had some rotten luck, really.

“Here we are.” Nico announced, relieved to have reached the storehouse. The guard sitting on the perch built on the walls of the estate announced their return and the great doors opened from the inside. As soon as they entered, two servant men approached and took the chains from Kimi’s hands. 

Nico nodded at them to chain the slaves to the nearest pillar under the shade. He procured the documents from under his overcoat and handed them to Kimi who inspected them with a critical eye.

“They are fake, aren’t they?” Nico whispered, fanning himself with his hand.

“Of course, they are.” Kimi agreed. “When have you ever seen a slave that was really captured in a war or a skirmish? Their homeland immediately buys them back, not lets them rot in captivity.”

Nico raised an eyebrow at that. “What are you going to do with them, then?” He was truly curious.

“Nothing.” Kimi answered, his eyes narrowing down in annoyance after nearing the fountain and seeing it was emptied again.

Nico sheepishly smiled at his friend’s predictable reaction, but was surprised by his nonchalance about his new purchase. “I mean, what will they be? Will they carry things? Be stablemen, personal servants, cooks or cleaners, what?”

Kimi seemed to think for a bit, unceremoniously flopping down on a chair under the building’s shade and taking off his turban. “That curly one…”

“Sebastian.”

“Yes, Sebastian said he is a healer and that… Pierre, was it?… Is a groom. Let them do their job whenever necessary. But Sebastian could help around, too. He looks strong enough to work. Just let them rest for now. That kid needs to heal.”

Nico nodded at that, sitting next to Kimi and undoing his own turban, too. Was it his imagination or today was a bit less scorching than usual? A girl came up to them and served them some sherbet and Nico motioned her to give something to the slaves, too.

They sat there in silence for some time, watching the girl give the other youths some water and some food. It was touching to see Sebastian feeding his friend first even though he had to be equally thirsty and hungry.

“Why did you buy them, Kimi?” Nico turned to his friend. 

Kimi’s eyes were fixated on the others and when he realized that Nico was watching him, he turned around, his gaze landing on the empty fountain stubbornly. After a while, he murmured. “I don’t know.”

“Shall I free them from their shackles?” They generally freed the slaves that they bought from their chains and as a custom of these lands, branded them on their hands with a tattoo.

“No. I don’t want to brand them.”

“But Sebastian is desperate to run away and he’ll try to escape again.”

“No. The shackles remain. Change them to something not rusty and more comfortable.”

Nico’s eyebrows rose again. Branded slaves didn’t need to wear those and walked freely around because if they escaped, they knew what would happen to them. They’d be brought back. Countless times… And Kimi was not a bad owner. He didn’t treat his servants differently from how he treated free men. All of his servants and slaves worked for him willingly. Not that he had many, but seventeen of his men, now including Sebastian and Pierre were of this kind.

Nico sighed, taking a sip from his drink. “You know, they think I am the Bey.” He snorted. “Maybe you should really consider changing your clothing style a bit.”

“Let them think that way and warn the other men about it, too.” Kimi was seriously going to play along, which was a feat in and of itself.

“I’ll start to think you are really bored and looking for some amusement, Kimi.” Nico couldn’t believe that his normally indifferent and apathetic childhood friend was going this far for a total stranger that he'd just met, or better phrased, he'd just bought.

Predictably, Kimi ignored the comment and diverted his friend’s attention immediately. “Nico, I want to swim.”

And that made Nico laugh fondly. “Okay, okay...”

* * *

Sitting quite a bit away from them, Sebastian was trying to listen in on the conversation as best as he could, but damn, he wasn’t able to understand anything. They were speaking softly and surprisingly the Bey was acting very familiarly with that sinister looking servant.

Sebastian wondered if he'd made a miscalculation and if these two were actually business partners. Surely, the green eyed one was too relaxed and too familiar around the other and the Bey treated him as if they were equals. But nobody told him nothing. He didn’t even know their names. They were chained down here like camels or horses and made to wait. At least, they were under a shade and a girl gave them some really nice thick soup with lots of meat and some root veggies in it. She returned with a skin of water and some bread. She even gave them spoons and earthen cups to drink. This was much more than he had seen how other slaves were treated.

He helped Pierre eat and drink, then he made him lay down and get some rest, but the other couldn’t stay still.

“I failed you so terribly, I don’t deserve to live.” He wasn’t sobbing any more, but there was grim determination on his face. “Just use me as bait and escape whenever you find an opening.”

Sebastian stopped eating, hushing the other. “Pierre, for the last time, stop apologizing and stop being like this.”

The teen looked up at him. “This is all on me. I can’t live with the shame. I don’t even deserve to call myself your guard.”

“You're not only my guard but also my friend.” Sebastian smiled encouragingly. Then, he stopped thoughtfully. “Pierre, if we are to get away, we’ll get away together. These people seem normal enough, they are merchants and by the looks of it they travel a lot. We’ll have lots of chances. Now, the quicker you get better, the sooner we can get away. So, we need to focus on how to survive this, not wallow about what we can’t change.”

Pierre bit on his lip, sweating profusely. His guilt ran deeper than Sebastian’s gentle words could reach, but he could see that by acting like this he was worrying the other. So, he needed to be stronger next time, stronger enough to not endanger their lives. “As you wish, Seb...” He conceded and coughed, his breath laboring. “But I really need something to relieve the pain. That horse ride jostled me quite a bit.” He confessed apologetically.

Sebastian looked back at where the girl that helped them had gone to and Kimi saw him searching. “Mei!” He called her and when she appeared, Kimi indicated towards Sebastian. He got up, too, and approached the slaves.

“He has some fractured and broken ribs. He needs to rest as much as he can. Would you show us somewhere we might stay at?” Sebastian asked Kimi.

Mei looked scandalized for a moment, but she kept silent as Kimi knelt down and unhooked the chains. “Get up, then.” He ordered. “Mei, go and open the room.” He threw her a set of keys, ignoring her bewildered eyes.

Sebastian didn’t see any of it as he was busy helping Pierre get up. They walked towards the main building block, the inside feeling so much cooler than one would expect. They climbed some stairs after Mei and passed through a long corridor. Mei unlocked a room and Kimi tugged them in.

It was a very nicely decorated room; in fact, it was possibly the sleeping quarters of the Bey. Sebastian hesitated for a moment, thinking about the implications of being shown into this room. He cringed, panicking visibly.

Not understanding what the problem was, Kimi tugged the chains again, but Sebastian didn’t move. “Enter.” He told the other youth. But when Sebastian continued to ignore him with the eyes of a trapped animal, he reached out and grabbed Sebastian’s free arm to direct him in.

What happened in that instant, Sebastian didn’t know, but his knee jerk reaction of shrugging the other’s hold off was negated by something. Something prevented him from resisting and a strange hotness climbed up his arm, numbing him. The servant dragged him and Pierre in and those few steps helped Sebastian to regain his bearing. He leaned away, forcing Pierre to step sideways and thus letting the momentum carry him, too. Alarmed, he realized that his arm felt so powerless, so drained.

“Let me go!” He practically snarled and shrugged as best as he could, surprising everyone with his panic.

Pierre started to carry his own weight in case Sebastian needed him and Mei looked at them in horror; why, Sebastian couldn’t care less. And the servant turned towards him with a slightly baffled expression, but didn’t immediately let him go.

Sebastian side stepped, finally freeing himself, unable to understand what had happened to him. His other hand immediately clasped over his arm. But mysteriously enough, his arm felt alright now, even though his skin tingled and felt burnt a bit from where he had been held.

Uncomprehending, Kimi looked at him; apparently waiting for an explanation. He did nothing to hurt the other, did he?

For a moment, everyone stopped and looked at Sebastian, waiting for him to do something and Sebastian felt he had to talk to draw the attention elsewhere.

“Marigold oil!” He blurted the first thing that came to his mind, backing away further into the room. 

Pierre stood beside him; even though he was unsteady and tired as hell, his stance was subconsciously protective of Sebastian.

One of Kimi’s eyebrows rose. “Marigold…Oil…” He repeated, feeling somehow offended by the reaction of the other upon his touch.

“Yes, for the bruises!” Sebastian nodded vigorously. “Or maybe witch-hazel oil? Any of them would do.” He was still holding his arm, his eyes still panicked. “Some ginger and poppy capsules for the pain… Clean bandages… And I know it is too much to ask for, but… Goat’s milk would do wonders for the bones.” Sebastian shut himself up before he'd babble more.

Kimi let him calm down from his unreasonable outburst. “Mei, bring in whatever they need.” He told the girl. “Give some bedding to them and lock them in.” He turned around and left the room, clearly annoyed.

Nico saw him in the yard and with one look at his friend, he figured out the problem. Seeing his friend getting upset over someone should have made him angry, but Nico couldn’t help but smile at the situation. It was endearing to watch Kimi trying to connect with people of his own accord. Something had to be special about Sebastian to cause such an urge in his friend, but Nico didn’t know what that thing was.

Sebastian was quite a handsome guy, but he doubted that Kimi was after that. When the curly haired slave had captured Kimi’s attention, they hadn’t even been able to see his face clearly. Yet, Sebastian’s motions were of liquid power, it had been mesmerizing to watch him storm the bazaar within a few seconds. He was trained as a warrior, Nico could see that. No wonder the bidders in the market were so enthusiastic about getting him. But what his friend had seen in Sebastian, Nico didn’t have a guess.

What he knew was the fact that his friend was clearly put off now. He donned his turban over his head and handed Kimi his. It seemed like they had to bring their swimming plans for tonight a bit forward. “I think we need a good dip in the bathhouse.” He announced.

Kimi narrowed his eyes down. “You know I hate hot baths.”

“We’ll find a happy medium for us both, come.” Nico insisted, lightly patting his friend’s back to get him into motion. He knew just what to say. “Maybe I can give a little gold to persuade the keeper to fill the outer pool for us.”

And as usual, that did the trick. Kimi’s eyes shone brightly. “Let’s ride, not walk.” He demanded, suddenly in a hurry.

“Get us some clean sets of clothes!” Nico told the servants and they went to the stables at the other side of the storehouse to get the horses themselves.

Seeing his friend’s suppressed enthusiasm, he knew that Kimi was going to swim until he turned into a prune.

* * *

Mei, who looked as if she wanted to bash in Sebastian’s skull the entire time, gave them everything they needed. She procured a thin mattress and some quilts for Pierre, and Sebastian quickly helped the other lay down. Starting a fire in the heart, she provided Sebastian with a pot to boil water, gave him fresh water, two cups and bandages. After locking them in and disappearing for an hour, she came back and gave Sebastian the oils and the other herbs that he had asked for. And finally, the door was shut on them for real.

Sebastian was making tea with some ginger and a bit of crushed poppy capsules, calmed down and at ease now that they were alone. He had massaged Pierre’s side with the oils and bandaged him with the clean gauze. 

The sun was slowly setting outside and Sebastian had checked to see where the single window of the room was overseeing. Unfortunately, it was right above the guard post at the back of the house, over the stables.

“What happened there, Seb?” Pierre asked, feeling relaxed for the first time in several days.

Sebastian steeped the herbs in a cup and crushed them with a wooden spoon to let the boiling water get the best out of them. He turned around and Pierre got up a bit, taking the cup from his hands.

“I don’t know.” Sebastian confessed, his face was troubled again. “His touch was numbing and burning. I felt helpless…” He trailed off for a moment, his gaze glassy. “It… It didn’t hurt much, but… It was such an alien feeling, it disturbed me.”

Pierre listened carefully, blowing over the steam of the cup before he took a sip. “Numbing and burning…” He repeated. “Are you alright now?”

“The moment he let go, the feeling mostly disappeared.” Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck. “At first, I couldn’t even dislodge his hold. For a moment, even my feet moved on their own to where he pulled me to.” He sighed and shrugged. “There is something wrong with that guy.”

Pierre stopped drinking. “Like what?” He asked.

Sebastian thought back to how the other man had watched him all the way back from the market. “He looks at me as if he knows me.”

“But we have never seen these people before.”

Sebastian nodded. “He is acting too familiar with the Bey. It is as if he owns the place.”

Pierre thought hard about it. “They could be partners. Though to be honest, he looks like a bandit.”

“We should take that into consideration. There is no need to alert them yet. We should stay as inconspicuous as possible, mingle and bide our time.”

They fell silent after that and Pierre slowly sipped and finished his tea, already feeling sleepy with the help of it. He lay down and despite himself, fell asleep quickly now that his pain subsided a bit.

Sebastian continued sitting beside him before the fire. He surveyed the room, minding not to move much to avoid making noise with his chains. There was a very comfortable looking bed on the right side of the door, facing it, and the heart was on the left where there was a long divan under the window, covering the corner. It was decorated with puffy pillows and there was another door on the far side of the bed, smaller than the entrance. It was probably a bathroom. The rugs, the quilts, the furniture were all quality made and showed off the wealth that the Bey had. And here he was, a slave, in the Bey’s personal quarters… His stomach was flipping with the reminder.

He could settle for playing the role of a slave for someone to secure Pierre’s health and find a way to escape; but he’d either kill somebody or cause great destruction before he was made into a slave for pleasure. That option was terrifying him. He was vulnerable here with no weapon to protect himself or his friend. His hands and feet were shackled and the old rusty chains were actually heavy. He had never been in this much of a dire situation before. Yes, together with Lewis or Daniel, he’d evaded quite a number of troubles in the past, but not something in these proportions with a grim outcome like this. He abhorred the feeling, but he was aware hown truly helpless he was for now.

The night fell and there was a tense silence in the abode. As far as Sebastian could hear, not even a mouse stirred. He wondered if they were going be given dinner or something to stave their hunger off, but no one came. He got up and discovered that the smaller door actually led to a moderately sized bathroom. It even had soap, towels, scented oils, and sponges. He grimaced at the marble interior. These people were really rich if they could afford this luxury in their houses. They had pipes to pump the water in here, he realized, turning on a brass faucet. It was bliss, to be able to relieve himself of days old grime, to be able to wash his hands and face. The water was warm and it was alive. He idly wondered how the Arank of the oasis was.

He returned back, finding himself a comfortable spot to sit and leaned his back on a chair near the heart. The servant girl had not given him any bedding or covers and he certainly didn’t want to take a quilt from the bed behind him. So, he sat as close to the fire as possible to ward off the night chill. 

All of his sores and bruises were throbbing and the toll of the sleepless nights was over him. As he sat there, he watched the fire, thinking about his home. He tried to stay awake, but eventually his beaten up body and tired mind won over his will and he fell asleep just like that, sitting besides the only source of light in the large room.

Kimi entered his room as quietly as possible. He was in a better mood now that Nico kept his promise and had the bathhouse keeper fill the pool for them with cool water. He swam to his heart’s content for hours and then got his dinner with a merchant from his country. When it was time to return, one of Nico’s men came with a parcel and left it with his friend. Now that parcel was in his hand.

The room was quite dark, the fire was about to go out. He closed the door and stepped further into the room.

The dark haired boy was sleeping soundly towards the sitting area of the room and the curly haired one, Sebastian, was sitting beside the fire, hugging himself with his naked arms, sleeping, too. Kimi felt strongly drawn to him, but finding the feeling annoying, he preferred approaching the heart.

The fire was dying; just an ember was flickering in the middle. He gently put a few pieces of coal near it and whispered something, making the flame roar into life and swallow the coal bits completely. He fed the flames with more coal and watched it for a while, trying not to give in to his urge. But it was futile and he gave up.

Slowly, he went to where Sebastian was sleeping and crouched down before him. The other youth didn’t look comfortable in the least. His neck seemed to be painfully creaked and he looked cold.

He had very long eyelashes, Kimi realized. Now that he looked at Sebastian for real, it was so easy to see how beautiful the other man was. High cheekbones, full lips, those lush curls falling on his forehead… They looked silky, but Kimi desisted from finding out if they really were. He looked on. 

Sebastian seemed quite strong; his long limbs were probably agile and tough. Kimi looked at his hands. He had tapering fingers, unblemished. It was strange for a guy of their age; being this free of any scar marks, having such elegant hands as if he had never seen a war or never had to fend for himself. But Sebastian had said he was a healer. Those hands of his were certainly a healer’s hands. They were beautiful and looked reliable, as if they were made to give life.

It was an indefinable feeling that was rising up in Kimi’s chest when he was near this guy. He couldn’t name it, couldn’t find anything to liken it from his earlier experiences. Sebastian was like a magnet and Kimi didn’t know what was so gripping and alluring about him. All he knew was that he would have never let the other bidders buy him. And the way he felt about this fact disturbed Kimi.

The fire cracked and illuminated the other youth’s face in a different way, the flames adding a nice hue to that almost perfect skin. 

Kimi looked sideways towards the fire and another small crack was heard, making him give a pointed look at the heart. When he turned his eyes back to the sight before him, the shadows were all where they were meant to be, but Sebastian stirred. He made a soft, throaty sound as he woke up, his chained hand going up to his neck immediately as his dark eyes opened sleepily. And he froze all over.

Sebastian forgot how to breathe. Sitting inches away from his face was that green eyed servant, watching him with rapt attention, unmoving. He even forgot about the pain on his neck as his heartbeat picked up, his eyes widening, his body tensing like a bow, ready to sprint; to where, he did not know. Due to the cold and the shock, he shivered violently and that gouged a reaction from the servant. A hand reached out for him.

“You are cold…” The other youth was about to touch his face and Sebastian’s mind blanked with panic. All he knew was that he had to get away.

When Sebastian sprang up to his feet and took a step back in a fluid movement unusual for a sleepy, chained down guy, Kimi was taken aback a bit, not expecting a reaction or agility like this. He stood up, too, observing the other. 

Sebastian’s eyes were wide, their blue looked almost purplish with the illumination of the flames now and Kimi couldn’t look away from them. But Sebastian was frightened, it was apparent. 

For a single second, Sebastian looked at Pierre, who was now still asleep behind Kimi. There was momentary relief when he realized that his friend was safe. He was still shivering, but there was this grim determination in his eyes, too. 

Kimi took a step.

Sebastian backed away even though he knew that made him seem weak, but he wanted to avoid the other’s touch at all costs. His chains jiggled and he thought that if push came to shove, he was going to hit the other with the chains on his hands. 

Pierre wouldn’t be of much help even if he hadn’t been practically drugged to sleep by Sebastian earlier. It was mostly a deliberate choice; because Sebastian didn’t want Pierre to see what might happen tonight when the Bey would eventually come back to sleep or to do  _ something else _ . That reminded Sebastian something. What was a servant doing here at this time of the night?

“What do you want?” He asked as he took a protective stance against the armed and sinister looking man. The servant wasn’t wearing his turban, but his kilij was at his side and his eyes betrayed nothing.

“Nothing...” Kimi truthfully answered, but he took another step towards Sebastian, this time a larger one.

“What are you even doing here?” Sebastian asked, backing away another step, knowing full well that he was being cornered towards the bed.

“I sleep here.”

“What?”  _ Isn’t this guy just a servant? _ Sebastian’s mind reeled.

“This is my room.” Kimi explained patiently, watching Sebastian panic more with the information.

_ How is this beautiful room given to someone like him? _ “Are you also a Bey?” Sebastian dreaded the answer. He thought he belonged to the blue eyed male. If not, then what were Sebastian and Pierre doing here?

“Am I now?” Kimi was intrigued by the other’s confusion.

This evasive attitude was frustrating. Sebastian wondered if he was bought to be gifted to this man. What was he, the Bey’s partner? Friend? Who the hell were these people?

“Get out!” Sebastian stopped backing away, now furious. He felt really frustrated with his powerlessness.

“I said this is my room.”

“Get out before I gather the whole household here.” Not a very dignified option, but Sebastian was ready to scream and shout.

Kimi considered it. He’d hate to create a commotion this late into the night, but this was his room and Sebastian was becoming really too much.

“Nobody dares to get me out of my own room.” And Kimi walked towards the other fast enough to frighten him and cause him to stumble back, his foot harshly hitting the furniture of the bed in his hurry.

Sebastian found himself sprawled on the velvet covers of the bed. His first instinct was to kick, but the short chains of the shackles prevented it. He tried to get away but suddenly the other man was onto him, firmly gripping his wrists, pinning them on his each side. It felt as if his heart was a few beats away from bursting out of his chest when those hands touched him again. He couldn’t even scream.

Really... Kimi hadn’t gone for Sebastian, this was not his intention. He'd simply thought that this was enough for one night and he'd wanted to sleep. He was just about to take one of the covers on the bed and give it to him. But as soon as Sebastian had tried to get away, just like this afternoon, Kimi completely fell to a baser instinct he didn’t recognize. He had simply chased the other when he tried to escape. In the blink of an eye, one of his knees was on the bed. He was leaning on Sebastian, who was looking up at him with shocked eyes, pupils blown impossibly and darker than the deepest oceans. Sebastian was trembling. There were tremors on the arms that he captured. Without thinking, Kimi leaned in, making him take in a sharp breath and struggle, turning his face away on impulse, baring his neck unwittingly.  _ Ah… _ Sebastian smelled wonderful; like fresh waters did, like running rivers did. The skin under his hands was smooth like quicksilver, cool as if washed just now. Kimi had never seen someone like this before.

“Get off me!” Sebastian snarled. Surprisingly, this time the other’s touch did not burn much. Sure, it was still somewhat numbing, but Sebastian was mostly in control of himself and he struggled. He twisted in the other’s hold harshly and managed to free one of his hands and landed two strong blows with his chains on his shoulder. 

Kimi recoiled a bit, but stubbornly didn’t let go. 

Sebastian’s head swam with the proximity and the intimacy of their situation, flushing despite himself, but he tried his best to push his knee between them and propelled himself backwards on the bed, getting away from the other a bit.

Kimi grimaced upon the pain. Sebastian certainly had something irresistible about him, but he was also a handful. Holding the other’s chains firmly, Kimi pulled up the still resisting youth towards himself, getting the other into a sitting position with some real effort.

Contrary to what Sebastian had expected, he was pulled up. He stopped struggling for a moment in the other’s grasp, astonished a bit. The other man was looking at him with boredom, annoyance, exasperation and something he couldn’t name, all mixed together in those green eyes of his.

“You sleep on the floor. This is my bed.” Kimi said calmly, watching how comically Sebastian’s eyes widened and his lips parted in surprise. “I wasn’t trying to attack you. I was going to get you a cover.” And he reached back, inadvertently getting closer than before to the other, enough to take another whiff of his neck and hair, and pulled back a velvet quilt, covering Sebastian with it who was shocked into stillness.

Sebastian couldn’t believe how he was played for a fool. The servant, or whoever he was, made it seem as if he was going to assault him. How could he not have felt intimidated by it under these circumstances? And he had the audacity to look completely unaffected and innocent, this bastard! “What do you take me for, a fool?” He practically growled, holding onto the velvet cloth as if he took power from it. “You have some sense of humor! Is it fun to disturb the slaves and then watch them get terrified?” They were still close, the other leaning on him a bit, but this time the proximity didn’t frighten Sebastian.

The accusation made Kimi’s eyes widen and he leaned back a bit as if recoiling from Sebastian’s ire. “That was not my intention.” He answered truthfully, remembering Nico’s words in the bathhouse. 

_ "They must be really frightened now that their lives are overturned. You must tolerate their viciousness and hostility." _

But he had forgotten about it all when Sebastian had treated him like he was some savage. He didn’t think there was something wrong with how he’d acted, but apparently there was. Yet, since he had paid the price by letting the other hit his shoulder twice, he thought that now they were even. “Nevertheless, you sleep yhere. I sleep here.” He pointed to the ground and then to the bed.

Mad at the other’s nonchalance, Sebastian harshly pushed him to the left and shakily got up, going beside where Pierre was sleeping. He sat down, facing the bed. After what had happened, he didn’t want to risk feeling more vulnerable than he already was by turning his back to him. He burrowed further into the velvet quilt and looked up. But as soon as he looked, he averted his eyes to the burning fire in the heart. The other youth was undressing.

Kimi, completely not self conscious, stripped from his vest and shalvar, standing in the room only in his underwear. He drew back the quilts and got on the bed, ready to sleep before he turned back to see what Sebastian was doing.

Sebastian was sitting facing him, covered with dark red velvet, legs drawn back, feet bare. He was watching the fire, a pout on his lips, his cheeks were a bit flushed for some reason that Kimi didn’t know.

“Don’t sit near the fire.” He warned, drawing the other’s attention. He eyed the heart and the light dimmed a bit. 

Sebastian didn’t answer. Silently, as if just for the sake of irritating Kimi, he bodily turned towards the heart and averted his eyes. And the fire seemed to brighten again in appreciation. 

Now that wouldn’t do. The fire was dangerous and it was attracted to Sebastian even though he wasn’t aware of it. Kimi whispered something harsh under his breath and the flames were back to how they were supposed to be again.

“Do you need a pillow?” He asked, unconsciously trying to gouge a reaction from Sebastian, but Sebastian was stubborn and very good at ignoring him. Against his better judgment, he couldn’t help throwing a soft pillow to the other’s general direction. “Sleep.” He ordered, exasperated. “Nothing bad will befall on you, so sleep.” Then he turned around and stuck his kilij beside himself where he could easily draw it, and closed his eyes.

Sebastian knew that men of this type had feather light sleep. They could sleep everywhere, but would wake up with the slightest of movements and the faintest of sounds. For a moment, he childishly considered to bother the other by shifting around and making noise. But then he shrugged. He wanted to sleep, too. He was so tired and exhausted. There were faint tremors on his entire body due to the fright of a few moments ago and he loathed the feeling, gnashing his teeth. Yet there was nothing he could do about it other than squashing the emotion and burying it until he would be calm enough to find a solution for it.

The pillow that had been thrown at him looked quite comfortable and he reached for it, hugging it under his head and in his arms. He lay down beside his friend, facing the bed again, alert for any movement. But as he tried to keep himself awake by thinking of his homeland, sweet sleep claimed him, the fire in the heart growing smaller and colder as soon as he fell asleep.

Kimi listened for the other's breathing to even out and only then he allowed himself some rest.

* * *

The next morning, he woke up to the sound of Sebastian stirring. Erasing the drowsiness from his mind quickly, he laid there, listening to the soft sounds that Sebastian made as he woke Pierre up. Then the small door made its distinct creaky sound and Kimi realized that Sebastian had to have discovered the adjoining bathroom some time last night when he had not been there.

After a while, he got up, too, startling Sebastian and Pierre. The latter was propped against a cushion as Sebastian washed the wounded side of his friend with a washcloth that he soaked and wrung in a small bucket of water that he'd taken from the bathroom.

Sebastian stilled in his ministrations and looked up at him as if he was trying to guess what Kimi was going to say. But Kimi didn’t say anything. His eyes landed on the small package that he’d left beside his bed last night, considering if he should open and use it. But he deemed that it was not the time yet.

He left the bed, taking his kilij with him, and disappeared into the bathroom. When he returned, he realized that both Sebastian and Pierre were following him with their eyes warily, as if they wanted to tell him something but desisted. Especially Sebastian was stealing glances at him and Kimi wanted to learn what the other had to say. “What is it, Sebastian?” He asked, wearing his shalvar and starting to don his belts and sashes.

Sebastian seemed startled with his question and for a second his eyes strayed to his shoulder.  _ Ah, that… _ Kimi side-glanced at it, too. There was a remarkable bruise on half of his left collarbone and on top of his shoulder. It smarted a lot even when he didn’t move his arm but Kimi was used to this type of injury. He turned back at the curious and somewhat guilty eyes that regarded him.

“I can heal it. It looks painful.” Sebastian offered bitterly, bellying his reluctance. He really wanted to bite his tongue off as soon as he uttered the words, but damn, the bruise was so blue and purple with some hemorrhaged blood right under the skin where the crudely made chains had to have bitten into.

Normally, for what the green eyed male had done last night, unknowingly or not, Sebastian would have deemed that the bruise was a proper retaliation and punishment. But he was wincing subtly every time he moved his arm and Sebastian hated watching people suffer with illnesses and pain even though he sometimes thought that they deserved it. It was against his principles to leave people in misery and Sebastian especially loathed it when he was the one who caused that misery. Though, the aloof guy seemed to be handling the pain quite well.

“It doesn’t bother me much.” Kimi said, but then thought that he could test the ability of the healer for himself. “But if you want to…” He added, appearing relatively nonchalant about the matter.

Sebastian secretly gritted his teeth upon the way the other acted dismissive, yet he stood by his decision even though it meant that he had to touch the other youth. Truth be told, he was curious about it now. He wanted to see for himself what would happen if he touched him on his own volition.

Kimi set his golden belt aside, sat on the edge of his bed and waited for Sebastian to come over to him.

Sebastian dropped the washcloth into the bucket, helping Pierre cover himself with his dark blue shirt. Feeling the ever watchful eyes of his friend on himself and strangely reassured by it, even though Pierre probably wouldn’t be of any help if something would happen, Sebastian got up and approached the other. He hesitated a bit about if he should stand or sit down, but since standing seemed awkward, he sat and examined the bruise that he'd made last night.

He had really done a number on the collar bone there. It was swollen and blood was coagulated under the skin deep inside. Dipping his fingers into the oil jar, Sebastian started murmuring something under his breath as if he was chanting a spell. The oil warmed on his hand and he gently and a bit fearfully touched the other’s damaged skin with his finger tips. 

Kimi’s skin was hot again, but not unbearably so. Sebastian marveled at it, wondering how someone like this could be possible, having such high body temperature, scorching anyone who he touched, but remained as cool as sharpened metal on the outside. Warmth was flowing to him, but Sebastian ignored it in favor of discerning if his hand was going to get numb again. Now, there was only a faint tingling and encouraged by it, Sebastian started to use his whole hand, massaging the area with his palm as he continued to say his healing words.

Kimi watched the other in a daze, totally forgetting about the other occupant of the room who was observing them carefully. The slave had such a wondrous touch. His hand was so soft, gentle and cool. Something was flowing from those fingers and palm to him; relaxing, rejuvenating, mending the damage in such an intimate and innocent way that Kimi involuntarily and unknowingly inched closer to him. His mouth was slack; his eyebrows were high in absolute awe.

Not only his shoulder, his whole arm and the left side of his chest felt revitalized, cool and light like submerged in cold water, soothed with every brush of that palm, every whisper of those fingers on his skin. “You really are a healer.” He found himself talking. “Your touch gives life.”

Sebastian looked up from his work and was surprised a bit to find the other’s face closer to him. A nervous half smile appeared on his face at the amazed look the other youth had. 

Sebastian had heard those words a lot, so many times before. “I am not giving life.” He clarified, even though he was partially able to do it but Kimi didn’t need to know that. “I am simply utilizing it, reshaping it, helping it find a quicker way.” The eyes before him widened a bit and the sun shone in them in a becoming way, green and grey swirling in so many different hues in those irises. Sebastian liked this reaction after seeing that apathetic expression on that face for so long.

“How do you do that?” Kimi wanted to learn, wanted to have this sensation that spread on his skin forever.

As if Sebastian would tell him that in a million years… But he enjoyed the fact that he had impressed Kimi. “Trade secret.” Creating the illusion that there was more to it to keep the other on tip toes, Sebastian dipped his fingers in a bit more oil. Of course, there was more to it but, Sebastian would never say it out loud, especially before a stranger like this.

That reminded him of something. “Do you have a name?”

Kimi, not getting an answer to his question, considered antagonizing the healer for being able to grab his attention so easily and firmly.

“You call me by my name, so what is yours?” Sebastian demanded again, looking back at his work. He felt relieved to see that some of the red and blue had already faded from the shoulder.

“Kimi.” The answer came, sounding clearly reluctant. But that didn’t deter Sebastian. He continued with his questions. “Are you a servant?” He didn’t think so anymore after last night.

Kimi frowned a bit, peeved by the idea of being considered someone’s slave. “I am free.” He was aware that he was the text book example of how a bandit looked and acted, but he was no servant, he was free.

Sebastian quickly caught the emotion and saw how the other regressed back to his earlier cold countenance. Seeing that both saddened him and caused him to resent his situation. Because, Kimi reminded him of their slavery and cemented the feeling of entrapment further.

“I was free, too, not more than a few days ago.” He bitterly talked and sharply regarded Kimi. No longer wanting to touch him anymore, he withdrew and stood up, now somehow as cold as Kimi had looked a few minutes ago. “So you are a Bey, too.”

“I work for Nico. But I am free.” Kimi tried to elaborate without betraying much, feeling rejected again as soon as Sebastian stopped his healing and returned back to his friend’s side. It reeled him and he felt even more riled at himself for letting Sebastian to cause this emotion in him.

“Nico… Is the Bey’s name?” Sebastian crouched down near Pierre, exchanging a look with him.

Kimi nodded, now totally reluctant to answer. He got up, quickly put on his vest and donned his golden belt, fixing his sword by his side. He covered his shoulders with a long cloth and took his turban with him, ready to go out and leave the two alone.

Sebastian didn’t like the way how Kimi acted tight lipped. He stood up again, stepping towards the door, blocking Kimi’s way. “Tell me who you are.”

“We are merchants, we travel.” Kimi answered in a clipped and annoyed tone.

“I can see that much. Who are you?”

Kimi narrowed his eyes down, staring at him as Sebastian stood in his dirty white shirt and shalvar; graceful and full of pride and sure of himself when he was serious. He had a distinct kind of an imposing aura; different than Kimi’s untamed, wild, overbearing and detached countenance. They both seemed like fierce warriors, but Sebastian was also elegant, almost royal. Kimi knew it when he met someone of equal caliber.

“What do you mean, Sebastian?” He asked, even though he very much understood what Sebastian wanted to learn.

“Why did he buy us?”

“Ask that to Nico.”

“Why did you let us use this room, feed us, let us rest? What do you want from us?”

Kimi honestly had no patience left. His shoulder was smarting again. He already wanted the other’s touch back on his skin and it irritated him to no end. Yet he couldn’t look away from those dark blue eyes. Sebastian’s stance was firm, demanding and taut like a bow, but Kimi couldn't care less, he was entrapped by those eyes again. All he could do was look.

But Kimi’s passive-aggressive behavior and his single minded gaze ticked Sebastian off, frustrating him greatly. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. “Why don’t you answer me?” He practically shouted and just a few beats after his outburst, the door was opened hastily.

The one who entered was Nico with a cautious but serene expression on his face as if he was trying to instill calm with the way he held himself.

“Ah… You are all awake. Good morning.” He gave a once over to all of them, but didn’t comment on the anger that steeped in Sebastian’s eyes or the nervous and disturbed look that Pierre had. 

Kimi immediately turned towards him, using the interruption as an opportunity and nodded his salutation. Nico stepped inside and inconspicuously created room for Kimi to go if he so pleased. Kimi chose to take the opportunity silently; leaving Sebastian clearly agitated with barely suppressed anger.

Letting the healer calm himself down, Nico turned towards Pierre. The younger youth immediately schooled his features to something neutral and Nico inwardly commended him for that. “Are you feeling better?” He asked, nodding at his wounded side.

“Yes…” Pierre answered and then quickly corrected himself. “Yes, Bey.”

“I am going to let you rest and get well until you’ll be fit enough to carry out your responsibilities. But Sebastian…” Nico turned towards the other. “You’ll be helping us around after you get your share of breakfast. Pierre can stay and rest here.”

Sebastian nodded, playing with the rusty, crude chains on his hands in irritation.

“Ah… Didn’t Kimi change those things?” Nico asked and saw incomprehension on Sebastian’s face. He looked around to locate the package that his friend had demanded from him yesterday. Finding it beside the bed on the ground, he considered whether to change them or not. Then, he shrugged. It was Kimi’s responsibility.

“Come Sebastian, follow me.” He led the way and the healer silently came with him. He showed him around; where the kitchen was, where the other servants were, where everything he should know was located. Sebastian wordlessly took it all in and Nico watched him as Mei prepared him some breakfast for two. He really wondered what Kimi and Sebastian had been arguing about before he'd decided to come in and calm them down. But Sebastian was quite put off and even more cautious than yesterday. He let him go and eat with the brown haired slave after instructing him to come down, because they had business to attend to within half an hour. Kimi had already gone there, he presumed, and Nico hoped that going out might provide Sebastian some breather from his situation.

Sebastian went back upto the room, his mood sour.

“Are you alright?” Pierre asked. “What did the Bey want?”

“I guess they need a few hands. I will be taken to somewhere else to help them for something, I don’t know what.” Sebastian’s eyebrows rose in surprise when he realized that they had been given a whole tumbler of goat’s milk as he had requested from Kimi yesterday. Narrowing his eyes down, he poured a generous helping to Pierre and drank quite a bit himself. He knew that he most probably wasn’t going to eat anything until the evening or the night, so he filled himself as much as he could.

“Drink that milk before it goes bad, okay? And eat as much as you can. We don’t know when they’ll give you something else to eat. If you feel yourself fine later, try to look around the room, see if you can find something useful for us.”

Pierre listened to his elder in growing nervousness. Sebastian was shouldering more than he should, always looking out for him even though that was Pierre’s job. It made him feel useless. “Don’t worry yourself about me. I’ll do my best.” He reassured the other to ease his burden a bit and did as he was told obediently. He had to get better as soon as possible, so that they could do something about their captivity.

Sebastian nodded at the other, a determined look entering his eyes as he watched his friend eat dutifully and with purpose. If only they could find a way to use the oasis, he could cure Pierre in the blink of an eye, but he could never do that under the watchful eyes of their master.

_ Master… _ What a word for someone like him to utter, he silently gritted his teeth. But at least, the Bey did not seem interested in him in  _ that way _ for now, which was a huge relief. Neither Pierre nor he was strangers to physical labor and Sebastian believed that as long as they diligently did their work, they’d be safe, they’d be inconspicuous. Or so he hoped…

It was time to go now. He bid Pierre farewell and came down to find the Bey. Nico immediately looked up at him since his chains made quite the sound as Sebastian walked.

The Bey was holding a bunch of documents in his hands and he stood up, tucking the papers into his overcoat. When Sebastian approached him, he gave him a folded long cloth. “Wrap this around your head, we’ll be under the sun today.” Then without waiting for an answer, he took the lead and the gates were opened for him and Sebastian.

Sebastian tried to wrap the turban to his head as best as he could, given that his hands were bound. He let the two ends of the long cloth down to create shade for his bare shoulders and he started to follow Nico.

The Bey was not walking fast, apparently he didn’t want Sebastian to fall back because of the short chain binding his ankles. Sebastian was only a step behind him as they headed towards the bazaar.

“Don’t even think about escaping, Sebastian.” Nico slightly turned back with a small smile on his lips, causing Sebastian to falter a bit and raise his eyebrows at him. “I am aware of how desperate you are, but…” He stopped talking for a second as if he considered his next words. “Escaping would prove useless because you’ll always be returned back to us. Sooner or later…”

Sebastian desisted from snorting loudly. He was aware that the Bey was a clever enough man to read people’s intentions. But there was no way he’d try to run away without a plan and without Pierre beside him. And that matter of being returned back sooner or later… As long as a slave was not branded, Sebastian knew that he or she would have a chance.

Well… Actually, that didn’t matter, either. He could heal any injury; make disappear any blemish caused by worldly means. Erasing a tattoo was not a problem. The problem was how to get away, but there was going to be a time to think that, too.

Nico was not expecting an answer to his warning, so he made do with observing Sebastian from the corner of his eye. The other young man looked troubled, most probably contemplating what he had said a few minutes ago, but Nico really wondered what he and Kimi had been arguing about in the morning.

“Why were you so angry with Kimi this morning?” He asked, falling a little more behind to walk nearly side by side with the slave.

Sebastian really didn’t want to talk about the stone faced man now, but there was no use to antagonize the Bey. “He purposefully acts difficult.” 

That made the Bey laugh. “Why do you think so?”

“I don’t know what his status is or what he is to you, Bey, but last night he made a fool out of me and this morning he pretended that I don’t exist when I tried to ask him questions.”

That made Nico perk up internally, but he stopped himself from commenting on it, knowing his friend too well and already expecting him to have done something that he’d be totally oblivious of its repercussions. Kimi’s actions and behavior were not shocking once you get used to them. But he could only guess what happened to Sebastian. He changed the subject.

“We are doing trade as you have guessed earlier. We have quite the large caravan, more than a hundred camels and twenty five horses that we change wherever we stop. As you can guess, we cover a large part of the northern side of the continent. We don’t spend too much time at one place.” Nico explained. “We are about to start another journey soon and I want you to see all our men today.” Then he laughed a little. “Well, in fact, as many of them as you can.”

“How many are there? A little more than a hundred?” Sebastian asked, already guessing the answer because of the number of the animals.

“Yes.” Nico commended. “A hundred and eight but not all of them come with the caravan.”

“I know how a caravan works, some of them are scouts, some travel ahead to arrange lodgings, some spy…”

“Say, Sebastian… Are you a soldier?” Nico doubted any answer that he might get.

“I am a healer, Bey.” Sebastian answered sourly.

Nico’s gaze shifted among the people that they were passing by, neutral, but he was calculating. “That merchant insisted that you two were captured in a skirmish near the lands of Shalbatana where it bordered Belili in the south.”

“I know that you can tell what I am even without hearing those lies from that human trafficker, Bey. Please, don’t make me repeat myself. I am a healer, Pierre is a groom, and we were free men just a week ago. This transaction is illegal and you know it, too.” Sebastian was this close to snarling in anger. He was neither a child to be trifled with, nor was stupid.

Nico kept his face free of any emotion that could show how he felt about the things Sebastian had said. He actually respected the other’s courage and wit. Of course, both he and Kimi were aware that the transaction was null, it was only a matter of proving who you were for Sebastian, but all of them knew that doing that was impossible, too. Sebastian was a slave and he’d better get used to the idea. But that didn’t mean that if it were him, he wouldn't let the two men go if they’d provided Kimi's money back that he bought them with. Yet, what would Kimi do if he would do that, Nico didn’t know.

“I can see that you are an intelligent man.” Nico said. “But remember your station.” He saw the need to remind the other to stay in line. “Then I believe we won’t have any problems.”

Sebastian bit his inner cheek to keep himself from shouting in frustration, tasting his own blood.

“And I expect you to show the same respect to Kimi, too. He is family to me. We work together.”

The information made Sebastian’s eyes go wide. “He is actually a Bey like you, then?”

Nico’s eyebrow twitched a bit, remembering Kimi’s needless game. “Not a Bey, no.” He amended. “But a trusted and precious friend... Just like your Pierre...”

_ Pierre is a Bey, too, not just a friend! _ Sebastian narrowed his eyes down, resisting the temptation to utter his mind. He calmed himself down and focused on his thoughts, looking around. Thankfully, Nico was a man of reason, unlike his precious friend, and it seemed that he actually meant to use his skills as a healer, nothing more. That certainly made things much more bearable.

For now, all he had to do was to endure. And he was a survivor if nothing else.

_ TBC... _


	4. Chapter 4

Nico took Sebastian to an inn, probably the biggest one in the city. It was made of stone and had so many doors and stairs that Sebastian stopped counting them after a few dozens.

The structure consisted of intertwined yards, all of them with fountains in the middle, date palms decorating the corners to create some shade, halls surrounded with long pillars and archways which supported a second storey above them.

Men lazed around in groups, sitting or lying on comfortable looking cushions or divans under the shadows that the building’s upper floor created. They were drinking and smoking hookahs, chatting about anything and everything.

Nico and Sebastian approached one of the groups that huddled around an intricately made marble fountain. They were all drinking tea and making small talk, some of them loudly laughing, some of them conversing in hushed tones. And in the middle of them, sitting at the edge of the fountain was Kimi, gazing into the water with a deep longing in his eyes.

As soon as Nico neared, the men gave him their salutation, some of them getting on their feet, some of them correcting their posture. Kimi remained where he was, barely acknowledging Nico’s arrival with a nod, as if he was not interested in whatever was about to happen. Sebastian just observed them, finding the people’s interactions upon their arrival a little odd.

Nico introduced him to the others and most of the men didn’t even look at him, not that Sebastian expected any different treatment. Here, he was just a slave among many slaves, nothing more, nothing less. This was for the better actually. Nico urged him towards the group, telling them why Sebastian was here. 

Sebastian neared the fountain and as discreetly as he could, he touched the water that flowed in the white marble bowls. Relieved to feel that the water was alive, he swished his fingers in it, loving the feeling. As Nico talked, he silently mouthed words to the Arank of the oasis, hoping that this fountain took its water from the small lake, but the water was so little here. It only rippled, danced and swirled within his core, replenishing him, making him smile without being aware of it.

Kimi had seen how his expression changed, but remained silent.

When Sebastian deemed that Nico finished his talk, he turned towards him. “Bey, I need paper, ink and a pen.” He demanded.

The young Bey looked at him with mild astonishment. “To make a record of their health status?” He was quick to catch up.

“Yes, it would help me a lot in the future if I’d be able to keep an account of them.” Sebastian turned towards Kimi and saw him surprised. The reaction riled him up for some reason. “What? I can read and write!” He blurted.  _ In three languages! _ But he didn’t elaborate.

After a beat of complete silence, some men started to laugh at his outburst, but he didn’t care, turning his face away.

“Arnall, bring him something leather bound, thick like a book. And some ink and pens.” 

To Sebastian’s surprise, it was Kimi speaking and his order was immediately executed as the said man quickly left the group to fetch the things he was asked for.

“Someone will get you back when you are finished, Sebastian.” Nico said and nodded towards Kimi. As the two made to leave the inn, all men stood up and saw them off. Sebastian’s eyebrows rose at the different treatment. There was something not right about these people, but he couldn’t pinpoint what.

“Come here, young man!” An old man called to him. The others around him pushed him forward, towing him like a kid to sit on a chair near the old man. Sebastian awkwardly looked around and within a second, all attention was on him, all the faces were turned to him, sizing him up and down.

“Man… He is so young, he is just a boy!” Someone blurted, earning peals of laughter from everyone. “What? He is! He must be close to the Bey's age!”

“So you are the mad dog who created that mayhem yesterday? Youth is a good thing, mate!” Some more laughter followed and Sebastian’s eyebrow twitched.  _ Mad dog? _

“But you have landed yourself in a fine place. The Bey is a good guy, though what goes in that head of his is mostly a mystery, bless him!” This time the stone yard boomed with laughter and Sebastian winced at the loudness of it.

When silence returned, the same old man talked again. “He really looks after us good.” He patted Sebastian’s shoulder and Sebastian silently considered whether these people were trying to make a point. But he let it slide.

“So, welcome, lad. You are really lucky, because the food is plenty and the jugs are full! Life is good.” At that, Sebastian forced a smile on his face.

Within half an hour, Arnall returned with the things he’d asked for, provided him with a portable table, another chair for his patients, some clean towels and fresh water in a metal basin to occasionally wash his hands in.

Sebastian did a methodical and a highly organized work. He created logs for each man he had examined, entered their heights, weights, ages and illnesses of past and present.

Oh, how many different things he had found! It was like a circus parade of illnesses from ordinary ones like the louse, tapeworms, rotten teeth, muscle cramps, and migraine to more serious things like heart and river conditions, lung problems, rheumatism, infections of the eyes and the ears, eczema and gout… 

Heavy smoking and drinking aside, he even found two cases of malnutrition.  _ Food is plentiful and jugs are full? Yeah, whatever… _ There were two people who had recent wounds on their bodies, probably made by janbiya daggers but thankfully they had already been treated fine. Sebastian couldn’t decide if he should feel disturbed or not upon learning that the Bey’s caravan drew quite the attention with its size.

Sebastian examined forty-eight people and noted down everything that he deemed necessary for him. A part of him felt angry with himself for investing himself so much for these people whom he wanted to get away from as soon as possible, but another part of him felt at ease for having the chance of curing more patients. These people were mere workers; some of them were even slaves, so Sebastian didn’t have a bone to pick with them as long as they treated him well. Looking after them while he was among them was not different than finding patients as he wandered these lands.

Whilst he waited for the last page of his book to dry, he realized that now all the men around him were gazing at him with reverence and awe, no longer laughing or trying to belittle the newbie that he was. Earlier, he had healed their minor complaints like aches and pains and other discomforts and that certainly earned their respect. He wished that he could do more but that would deplete him since there was no way for him to swim somewhere and replenish himself any soon. He had to preserve his energy.

The men were a genial merry bunch, probably had been working together for quite some time. They were comfortable around each other and it was evident that everyone was here because they wanted to be here. Nico had to be a well loved master.

They brought him tea and sherbet as many times as he asked. Sometime during the examination, he was even able to eat sweet dried dates, plums, apricots and figs, the courtesy of his new admirers. They made it well into the night as Sebastian talked and the men listened. He tried to find out more about them, but they were pretty tight lipped and evasive in their answers. Sebastian didn't mind much.

He tried to observe the slaves that he had found out among the workers. Earlier, he had counted seven men with a brand on the upside of their left hands, glaringly visible. The design was a curious one, resembling a stylized sun, intricate and detailed. But in the end, it was the mark of slavery. Then again, for some reason, Sebastian thought that he had seen it somewhere else. Not on a person to brand them as a slave, but somewhere else… He couldn’t quite recall.

Then Kimi came and everyone, whoever was left, stood up to him in salutation. Sebastian got up, too, just to not be the sore thumb among the lot. The stoic blond motioned for them to sit, joining them, someone immediately pouring him sherbet and offering him fresh fruit. Kimi didn’t touch them. He went and sat beside Sebastian, reaching for the open book like a single minded child.

Sebastian watched him read, turning page after page, and the wonder on that face increasing gradually. He celebrated himself deep inside for provoking Kimi’s curiosity. Changing that stoic face into anything other than that neutral state was enjoyable for Sebastian.

“Your handwriting is like a woman’s.”

But the good feeling died immediately.  _ The hell?! _ Sebastian thought, the feather pen he had been playing with snapped into two as laughter boomed yet again. Highly offended, Sebastian couldn’t stop himself from angrily hissing. “In case you are partially blind, I am a man, not a woman!”

The laughter immediately stopped at Sebastian’s words and the men grunted and tensed for some reason. But Kimi raised a hand and everything was normal again. “I meant that your writing is beautiful and meticulous.” His expression was quite neutral, free of maliciousness or ill intent.

_ Then say so, you jerk! _ Sebastian fumed internally, but didn’t say anything. How could this man be so callous and detached of what he was saying and doing, Sebastian couldn’t fathom.

“Come, we’ll go back.” Kimi urged and waited for him to collect his book. “Keep the ink and pens. Tomorrow, bring them here.” He ordered a man and Sebastian caught up with him, tucking the book under his sash.

Together, they exited the building, retracing the path Sebastian had walked this morning with Nico. There were less people around, streets were darker, the bazaar was quieter. Kimi was walking side by side with him, keeping a relatively slow pace. Sebastian absently gazed at the bazaar stands, all lit and eye catching as they slowly passed by them. There were many things from beautiful clothes to finely made kilij and jewelry. The sight of warm overcoats made Sebastian shiver in the night chill. He was amazed how Kimi could manage with just a piece of cloth over those thin vests of his. But the guy knew how to wrap it around himself and he looked warm. He touched his own bare arm and for some childish and stupid reason, the feel of his own cold hand on his skin made his eyes tear up. He felt desolate. He had fallen quite low, hadn’t he?

To dispel the throat clogging feeling, Sebastian started to play with his chains. This was turning into a nervous habit to cover his emotions. The chains were heavy; they chafed his skin and made it bleed. There were bruises around the cuffs. He didn’t heal them. They were to remain. They were the proof of his captivity and he’d never heal them as if nothing was wrong with the world right now. The rusty and dirty chains would probably cause an infection in the near future, but he didn’t mind. He was used to the pain, he could handle it. He grimaced at the torn skin that his fingers found under the edge of the crude metal.

“Are they heavy?”

Sebastian was startled at the question a bit, turning his head to look at Kimi. The other youth had this honest look on his face again, apparently asking because he really wanted an answer.

“It matters not, does it?” Sebastian shrugged, letting his hands hang limply by his either side.

“There are wounds…” Kimi observed; his green eyes trained on the nearest hand that he could see.

“What did you expect?” Sebastian flippantly asked, not wanting an answer.

“Heal them, Sebastian.”

That made Sebastian take a serious look at Kimi, his eyes screaming.  _ Why the hell do you care? _ Reigning in his ire, he decided to not grace that order with an answer and went on walking, trying to increase his pace. 

Surprisingly, Kimi didn’t say more about it. Sebastian could feel his gaze on himself and it was really unnerving how adamantly the guy could pursue something or someone he had probably found amusing. Sebastian wondered what was so interesting about him for the blond to focus on his person this much.

“Do I know you from before?” He asked in irritation.

Kimi raised an eyebrow as if questioning,  _ Why did you ask that?  _ "I don’t think so.”

“You find me amusing, then...” Sebastian narrowed down his eyes and stood as menacing as he could for someone in shackles and chains.

“Amusing? No, why would I think that?” Kimi was speaking in such a sincere way without any ulterior motives that it was frustrating Sebastian.

“Then why do you look at me so? I won’t try to escape if that’s your problem! Why are you always watching me?”

Kimi’s eyes widened for a second as if he was just realizing what he had been doing since they had met. Then his head whipped to the other side. “No reason…” He mumbled.

Sebastian confusedly observed the blond, trying to understand him. If only the quiet guy had talked a bit more, things would have been a lot easier. “Fine! Don’t talk!” He tried to gouge a reaction, but alas, Kimi was a stubborn one, he simply turned his face away further. Suddenly, finding their situation hilarious, Sebastian suppressed a smirk upon the reaction. “I really wonder if you can utter more than two sentences at a time, Kimi.” He exasperatedly but good naturedly muttered to himself, facing the other side of the road, too.

He didn’t see how Kimi turned back to him with widened eyes, taking in his expression and then looking ahead with pleased wonder in his eyes.

A few minutes later, they were back in the storehouse and Mei was dragging Sebastian towards the servant’s room to give him his dinner. 

Kimi stayed behind, going straight towards the fountain, happy to see that it was full of water and working. He seriously considered taking off his clothes there and then to at least wash himself down a bit, but Nico’s voice alerted him.

“Kimi, please… It is freezing.”

“Let's go swimming, Nico!” Kimi demanded like a child without even turning back to look at his friend.

“Not now... For some reason, the nights are getting cooler, aren’t they?” Nico mused. He was reclining on a divan under the dark shade of the building with a hookah pipe in his hand.

Kimi touched the flowing water and sighed. “Today was milder, too.”

“Yesterday was, too. Then I suppose, you are feeling good …” Nico blew some smoke towards the starry sky.

“When had my so called good mood ever turned the weather milder like this?”

Nico gave a serious thought to the question. They had been together, roaming on these caravan roads since they were small kids, barely seeing their homelands once or twice a year. 

Truth be told, their travels mostly covered the arid lands, the parts of the Great Desert and rarely the coast line. They had never seen a winter in their entire lives, not even near the sea. Freezing colds were not uncommon in deserts at nights, but mild afternoons? He had even given Sebastian a turban earlier, thinking that it would be unbearably bright. All in all, today had been a sweet day and whatever had caused it, Nico was thankful for it.

“So how was Sebastian’s work? Was he able to finish half of the men?” He asked to change the subject.

Kimi sat on the edge of the marble fountain and gazed into the reflection of the sky on the water. “You should see the notes he took. The men are too trusting. They'd even told him where they hail from.”

Nico laughed at that. “He has a way with people, I guess.” He smoked some more. “We should have warned them. Though for him to know where our men are coming from is not something important or big.”

“Tell them to not disclose unnecessary information about us.”

Nico couldn’t wrap his mind around the request. “Why the secrecy, Kimi?”

“Until we know more about them, it should be like this. He is not ordinary."

“You wouldn’t have made me buy him otherwise, I can see that much.” Nico smiled. “He is knowledgeable about how a caravan works. He is probably a good janbiya user. He can read and write which is quite uncommon among the ordinary folk. And he is a healer if we can count on his word.”

Kimi perked up at the last comment, a look of disbelief appeared on his face as if he couldn’t understand how his friend doubted Sebastian’s talent. “He is.” He insisted. “It is as if life flows from his hands…”

Nico’s eyebrows rose. “How do you know that?”

Kimi thought for a moment, considering if he should show his shoulder to Nico and suffer the consequences of explaining its reason or not. Then, he decided that his friend should know. He approached the divan, unwrapping the cloth from himself and sat beside his slightly shocked friend. He pulled down the neckline of his vest and showed Nico his injury.

“He healed my shoulder this morning.”

Nico looked at the still tender shoulder with a slackened jaw. “How the hell did you get this bruise in the first place?”

“Don’t get alarmed, but Sebastian did it.” Kimi corrected his attire, stopping his friend’s motion to get up –probably to find Sebastian- with his hand. “He thought I was attacking him, so he hit me with his chains.”

Nico sat back again, trying to digest the information. “And pray tell, what were you trying to do then?”

“I was trying to get a quilt for him from the bed. He panicked, fell on the bed and for some reason I followed and caught him, he got afraid and hit me twice.”

_ For some reason, eh… _ Admittedly, the look on Kimi’s face was of someone whose good intentions were wasted cruelly. It was so apparent that he considered himself as th wronged party, but Nico couldn't decide if he should laugh or feel sorry for his friend and Sebastian. He could only imagine what exactly Kimi had done to deserve the bruise even though he had already warned Kimi about Sebastian’s possibility of becoming violent if he would drop his guard around the healer.

“And how is this considered healed?” He pointed to the other’s shoulder. “It looks quite raw.”

“It was worse.” Kimi played with the cloth in his hands. “But I guess I should have thought about how he’d perceive my actions.”

Nico made a double take at his friend's words. It was quite the sight, actually. Kimi was an innately good person, without any malice or ill intent in him, but he generally did not bother to check his actions or behavior around people he barely knew. Yet here he was willing to reconsider his moves before he'd make them when it concerned Sebastian. And Sebastian had to be a real healer, indeed, to be willing enough to cure someone who had probably given him a real scare last night, even though he was the one who had inflicted the injury.

“Will you ask him to heal it again?” He ventured quietly, gazing sideways at Kimi.

His friend nodded.

“Change those chains; they must have chafed their hands and feet quite badly.”

Kimi nodded again.

“Is it a really a good idea to let them sleep in the same room with you?”

Kimi doubted it a little, but he trusted his skills. “I can manage three people at the same time, you know it.”

Conceding the argument with a huff, Nico stopped asking questions, returning to his smoking. He considered calling in someone he could trust to observe Sebastian, but he doubted that it was a worthwhile idea. Maybe leaving things to unfold by themselves for the slaves was a better option for now. He had more immediate concerns.

“A letter came while you were out to get Sebastian. Our contact wants quite a large amount of silk to be taken to Dain. What do you think?”

“Haven’t we decided that our next stop would be somewhere with a coast line?”

“It is a nice offer and we happen to have the demanded amount stored here in Nefer.” Nico explained. “Here is the letter. Please go through it so we can make a decision.”

Kimi looked completely put off by the news, but nevertheless, he begrudgingly accepted the neatly rolled up parchment. “I’ll give it a thought.” He motioned to get up, ready to turn in for the night.

“Kimi, please be careful. Otherwise, I’ll have to insist for Sebastian’s removal from your room.”

The warning was from a concerned friend who wished not to see his friend in pain, but Kimi simply shrugged it off, knowing that Nico was worrying too much.

He wasn’t that callous to cause another scene tonight. He’d meant no harm, so; it had to be fine. 

He bid good night to Nico and went up to his room only to find Sebastian in it, making tea for his friend. They had been talking, but as soon as he entered, they stopped, not even looking at him. Kimi didn’t mind.

He threw away his turban, shawl and the letter onto the bed, directly going for the bathroom. He returned back with only a towel wrapped around his waist, wet, making the other occupants of the room pointedly looking elsewhere. He didn’t know why they looked so bothered by him doing his daily stuff in his  _ own _ room. 

He rummaged through the chest by the bed and found some loose pants to get into. Not bothering to completely dry his hair, he put away the towel, too, taking a seat at the edge of his bed. He observed Sebastian as he massaged oil into the teen’s side.

“How does it feel?” He wondered if it felt the same for Pierre, too.

Said boy nervously looked up at him, considering. Sebastian didn’t even stop in what he was doing, mouthing things as his hands worked.

“It is healing… Sir.” Pierre answered cautiously, not completely understanding what Kimi was asking.

“I mean his massage, his touch...” Kimi tried to elaborate. “Does it feel like coolness flowing into you?”

“Huh?” Pierre flinched a bit, because that question made Sebastian react.

“Everyone feels it differently.” Sebastian explained without turning back, but for some reason his body seemed to tense up. “Some say it feels hot, some say it tingles and aches in a good way. Some say it feels like a breeze passing through and numbing them. But mostly, it is a cool sensation, even cold.”  _ Because on these lands, most people have an essence of fire in their cores... _

“It feels pleasantly hot for me.” Pierre joined the conversation.

Kimi was listening to them with rapt attention. “How long does it take to mend a dagger wound?”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at the question. He would never tell him that he could heal it within a few minutes if there was an alive water body to use around or if he was desperate enough. “It changes according to where the stab wound is. But around three weeks, I guess…”

“Cholera? Dysentery?”

Sebastian finished his massaging and started to bandage Pierre, sharing a meaningful look with his friend. “Where does the curiosity come from? Are you planning to change professions?” He asked, mildly joking with a half smile.

“I have seen way too many people die from stab wounds or cholera and dysentery.” Kimi’s gaze was cloudy when Sebastian turned around to look at him.

“Your caravan must be targeted quite often, then.” He mused. “And those infections can be controlled and even avoided if people knew how to keep themselves and their environment clean.”

“You need water for that.” Kimi deadpanned. He thought that talking about this had to be easy and even trivial for a talented healer like Sebastian.

“I have seen many villages and towns with irrigation canals running through or around them. Yet the water is generally so dead that it spawned and spread all kinds of infections that you might not even know the names of.”

Kimi thought about that, about how visibly the subject upsetted Sebastian. Now the other youth had a furrow between his brows, scornfully looking at Kimi, but Kimi knew that his ire was not directed at him. “Where did you see it?” He already knew the answer. There weren’t many countries with irrigation canals.

“Does it matter? The whole continent is a dried up piece of misery thanks to us.”

“We didn’t create the desert, Sebastian.”

“Surely not... But we could do better with whatever water is left, couldn’t we?”

“Sebastian…” Pierre didn’t like where the argument was headed to, so he touched his elder’s shoulder as a simple reminder.

It worked. Sebastian’s unsettled countenance visibly melted into something wistful and sad. “Right… No reason to take it out on Kimi…” He muttered gently, turning around to pour Pierre some herbal tea.

His words made Kimi’s eyes widen again and he looked elsewhere quickly to hide his expression. But Pierre had seen it and understood what caused that wonder filled expression to swim in those eyes. Sebastian had called the man with his given name and apparently the blond guy marveled at it. For a moment, he considered not to drink the painkiller tea to keep awake and alert for as long as Sebastian would need him. But Sebastian urged him to drink and it was neither time nor place to voice his worries to him.

“I want a massage, too.” Kimi demanded after a few minutes, his eyes still averted towards the fire in the heart.

Sebastian dried his hands on his shalvar and looked up at Kimi. There was a sliver of hesitation in his eyes as he eventually nodded. He took the oils with him and went to sit on the left side of him. 

He feared that the other’s skin might burn and numb him again. Yesterday, there was a mild numbness, but what would happen today, Sebastian couldn’t guess. For a second there, he wished he could pour water on Kimi to slake away some of the abnormal heat off of the other’s body, but here he wasn’t able to do it. He hesitantly dipped his fingers into the oil and took a deep breath to ready himself for the pain.

Goodness, it really was hot this time, just as hot as when Kimi had first touched him. His fingertips tingled and immediately got numb, but he successfully shoved down the urge to flinch. He vaguely remembered another instance when he was burnt as he treated a patient, but he couldn’t quite recall when and how.

The hot feel of the smooth skin might not have been totally unpleasant and painful if the heat in Kimi’s body did not have an invasive quality about it. It was as if it tried to overwhelm him; demanding, pervasive and unquenchable. Sebastian could feel that it dared to search him, as if guessing that this was not Sebastian’s true power, but only the tip of a gigantic mountain that he preferred to show. It was unnerving, disturbing, consuming. And Sebastian didn’t understand why there was this temperature difference between different days. How did it rise or fall… How could this be even possible?

How could Kimi stand being in his own skin?

Involuntarily, even though he forced himself, Sebastian took his hand back, closing it quickly to hide his reddened fingers.

“Why did you stop?” Kimi knew there was something wrong with Sebastian. Even though admitting this irritated him greatly, he had been wishing for that touch the whole day and he wanted Sebastian to continue no matter what. He looked at the dark eyes of the other imploringly, silently demanding him to go on.

_ This man is dangerous. _ Sebastian thought. The blond’s eyes had the power to persuade someone to jump over a cliff. But he really didn’t want to experience the same pull again. It was mind numbing. He couldn’t imagine what would happen if he’d place his whole hand over the other’s skin without some aid.

“Are you okay?” Pierre asked this time, making Sebastian flinch a bit.

Sebastian turned towards his friend and his eyes had to have told the other something, because Kimi could see how the brown haired boy’s air changed.

“I think I need to compress it a bit.” Sebastian practically jumped onto his feet, going straight to the bathroom. Both Kimi and Pierre looked at where he disappeared into with varying degrees of surprise on their faces. 

When Sebastian returned, there was a small cloth in his hands and a basin full of water. He threw a reassuring look at Pierre and the other youth relaxed a bit, resisting sleep.

Wetting the cloth, Sebastian rubbed it gently over the bruise, making goose flesh appear on Kimi’s naked chest and shoulder. He averted his eyes from the sight and concentrated his attention on the bruise only, gritting his teeth a bit. 

His hand now wet, he returned back to his massage, this time using his whole hand as he bit the inside of his cheek. He decided to apply more power to the area, mouthing words in a speedy manner. He frequently rinsed his hand in guise of rinsing the cloth and compressing the bruise with cold water, but in fact, it had no use even though the water coming from the pipes was chilly at this late time of the night.

He repeated the action many times, unable to look at elsewhere on Kimi’s body, not even at his ever watchful eyes. Finally, when he finished, he gave a final rub with the other oil and quickly disappeared to the bathroom again.

Gosh, his hand smarted! It hurt too much! The pain was reminiscent of some farfetched memory, but he was hurting too much to even contemplate on it. He turned on the faucet and it helped him a bit. He concentrated and detached himself from the pain as quickly as he could, because he knew that the others were about to get suspicious. He focused on the burnt and for some strange reason, in his neutral state of mind; he likened it to a burnt you might get for trying to touch the sun. The fleeting thought was erased from his mind when his core essence took over for a single heart beat and Sebastian immediately drew his hand back, thankful that he didn’t cause a flood in the bathroom.

His hand was healed perfectly.

When he returned, he went for Pierre and helped him to lie back on his bed, mouthing an  _ 'I’m alright' _ for him to relax and stop evading sleep. 

A bit reassured, Pierre quickly fell asleep with the help of the herbal tea. 

Having nothing to busy himself with, Sebastian's gaze landed on his lap, inspecting the chains on his hands without actually seeing them. He didn’t want to turn around and face Kimi again, because he was aware how the other had to be watching him now.

“Is your friend asleep?” The question made Sebastian shiver despite himself. He nodded; reaching for the pillow and the velvet quilt that Kimi had given him. He hoped that his action indicated his want of sleep and discourage Kimi from saying whatever he wanted to say. But he wasn’t a lucky guy.

“Then, come here, Sebastian.”

Now, Sebastian really hoped Kimi was aware of how wrong that demand sounded. He turned around and found the other still sitting in the same position on the bed.

“We can talk like this.” He offered, trying to look braver than he felt at the moment.

Kimi realized how nervous the other was; his blue eyes averted and his face pale. Then, he reconsidered his words and noticed how they sounded. “No, I mean no harm. Just come here.”

Sebastian evaluated his options. There was no way to turn and Kimi seemed as inconspicuous as ever. He shrugged and went to sit down on the bed again as Kimi motioned him to.

Kimi procured a nicely wrapped up parcel and set it aside. He shifted closer to Sebastian and grabbed at his chains, causing him to flinch in panic. But to Sebastian’s astonishment, he procured an old key and began to unlock the heavy, rusty shackles. He threw the nasty things at the foot of the bed and took the washcloth Sebastian had used on him earlier. Mindful to not touch him much, he started to wipe at the broken and bruised skin, trying to remove the days old caked blood.

Sebastian was appalled, not even registering the pain. “What are you doing?” He asked in a small voice.

“I am returning the favor.” Kimi answered, looking at Sebastian’s shocked and saddened face. “They hurt, right? You were in pain when you treated me.”

Sebastian didn’t answer, feeling tears collecting in his eyes as he watched how carefully Kimi was cleaning them. It was not done perfectly and wherever he touched Sebastian felt burned, but it was a relief of sorts to feel his hands free of their burden. He knew it was foolish of him, but he felt touched at the gesture. Yet at the same time he was affronted for being not considered enough of a threat. Kimi had to be so full of himself to play down their situation. “I can attack you.” He was close but whispering, as if sharing a secret.

“I can finish you before you even try.” The words were cold, but Kimi’s eyes and face were devoid of any ill intent. It was hard to feel offended.

“You underestimate me.” Sebastian countered, searching the other’s face.

“I never did so since the moment we met, Sebastian.” Kimi wiped and poured water over the wounds some more, rinsing the bloodied cloth in the basin. “Heal them.”

It was lightning fast how Sebastian's soft and forlorn expression twisted into one of defiance. “I will not.”

“Why?”

Sebastian didn’t answer. He traced his broken skin with his fingertips and hoped against hope that Kimi would leave his hands like this. But his heart broke as soon as he saw what Kimi had in that neat parcel of his. Several sets of new, shiny, lightweight shackles…

When he saw them, with all his might, with the very essence of his core, he wanted to crush this place to its smithereens. He wanted to destroy this place, leave Kimi in its shambles and run away instead of being chained down like this. The devastation that he was capable of would surely shorten his life after what he'd cause would be found out and word would be spread around, but at least he’d be free. He’d be hunted down again, but until then, he’d be free.

He would do it, he really would, but he was not just his own person. He had the responsibility of so many on his shoulders, death was not an option for him. His frustration was so great that he didn’t even realize he was crying as Kimi locked the new chains on him. He bowed his head at his own powerlessness and at Kimi’s cruelty, because the other youth had made it as if Sebastian was accepting his own captivity as he silently let Kimi reattach the shackles.

_ Yeah, he is returning the favor… _

Kimi wasn’t aware of his tears. He stood up to crouch down in front of him and unlocked his feet, too. He gently washed the wounds, his rare touches burning Sebastian and making him cry harder in silence at the ironical sight that they presented.

Here he was a slave, his wounds being cleaned by someone of higher status who was kneeling in front of him as if he was the servant. Being shown kindness only to be chained down again... He had seen many cruel things as he had traveled from land to land, but Sebastian never knew that stripping someone of their freedom was something to be made a mockery of gentleness out of it, that it would feel as brutal as this.

When Kimi finished and snapped the silvery metals on his ankles, Sebastian quickly got up and scrambled towards their side of the room, to lie down and pretend to sleep, to get away from the other man. But Kimi caught his arm, causing panic to take over his heart, making him take a sharp breath both in fear and at the pain that spread from his arm. Impulsively, he looked up, seeing how the other’s green eyes widened upon the horrible sight that he had to be presenting.

It angered Sebastian.

Kimi didn’t get to be surprised at the sight of his misery after being the cause of it! He viciously shrugged the other’s slackened hold and turned away again. “Stop this.” He hissed, his voice dripping with the mental agony that he was going through. “Let me be.”

After seeing those eyes, those tears, Kimi couldn’t move. He just stood there, watching Sebastian go to the other side of the room as he wiped at his face furiously and wrapped the velvet cloth around himself as if he was trying to get into a cocoon. 

Sebastian lay down with his back to him and Kimi took a shaky breath, finally free of the hold the other youth had gotten him into. He looked at the rusty metal pieces on the floor and then at the fire crackling in the heart. The flames mocked him, laughed at him and he just stood there at a loss of what to do.

What the hell had he done wrong this time?

* * *

The next day, Kimi disappeared from the room after he changed Pierre's chains and nobody uttered a single word. The atmosphere in the room had been so tense that Pierre's senses tingled with the intensity.

“Did something happen while I was sleeping?” He correctly guessed.

Sebastian poured them milk and set the breakfast tray more towards Pierre, as if he wasn’t going to eat anything. “I am not going to give you that painkiller at nights, Pierre, sorry.”

“Why? What?…” Pierre's eyes narrowed down with murderous intent. “Did he do something to you?”

Despite his sour mood, Sebastian smiled gently at Pierre's protectiveness. “No… He couldn’t even if he'd wanted to. I am not some weak damsel, Pierre, stop worrying.”

Pierre pushed the tray subtly towards his elder as if to urge him to eat a bit. “Then why? Why do you look so sleepless?”

Sebastian played with the crumbs of his bread, thinking. How could one explain that sense of powerlessness and desolation? Especially when he knew that Pierre would blame himself more than he already did when he'd find out the reason.

“It is just that… You being awake might be a deterrent of sorts…” He mumbled.

“Deterring what exactly?” Pierre feared the answer, because he was aware how the other man had been looking at Sebastian since they had first met. Those eyes were full of admiration and maybe something more.

“He says stupid things and I get mad easily.” Sebastian explained, his eyes unable to meet his friend’s. “If you are awake, he might feel less inclined to talk and I'd feel less inclined to destroy the place and blow our cover.”

Pierre really wanted to ask more, but Sebastian's behavior booked for no further argument. He let him eat in peace even though Sebastian ate less than a few mouthfuls. He decided that disturbing the other with things he clearly didn't want to talk about was useless. Instead, he was going to observe their benefactor.

Sebastian ate as much as he could and wrapped the turban that Nico gave him on his head, even though he knew that he didn't need it. His presence was slowly making itself known. One had to be really sensitive to actually realize this, but the days were getting milder and the nights were getting chillier. Though in a desert, the difference was so miniscule that he had to stay at least for a month for ordinary people to realize it, too.

He left his friend to his breakfast and went down only to meet with that guy Kimi had told him to bring the ink and the pens. He saw neither Kimi nor Nico around and shrugged to himself, following the older man out.

When they arrived at the inn, Sebastian met quite a number of people again. There were guys from yesterday, too. 

As he worked, time flew by. He finished checking everyone present and then just sat there, listening to the people talk about this or that. Unfortunately, nobody talked about anything of use for him. They were just chatting and Sebastian didn't want to single himself out by asking questions about their master to them. So he sat there and waited for somebody to pick him up, because he was quite hungry by now even after eating the fruits that the men had given him.

He didn't have to wait for long. Kimi himself sauntered to the inn, his face covered sinisterly, and without much preamble, ordered him to follow him. Sebastian undid his turban and wrapped the cloth around himself like a shawl to ward off the chill of the night.

They walked in silence. Sebastian was aware that his silence was childish, but he had nothing to say to the other. The brunette was walking nearly side by side with him and it seemed to Sebastian that Kimi was exerting conscious effort to look straight ahead. It secretly amused him, but he pointedly distracted himself by watching the passers-by, the town's people and the bazaar stands and vendors. 

Everything seemed the same, only the people were different. He couldn't even guess how many caravans were entering and exiting the city gates daily. It would have been so easy to escape had he been alone. But that was not an option. He had to wait for Pierre to get better and this city already knew who they were and what they had done.

As he thought about how they could escape once there were no obstacles, he gazed distractedly at the stands of janbiya and kilij sellers. He was instinctively drawn to them as he was in need of weapons now, feeling more vulnerable than ever now that his beloved daggers were gone. 

He ventured towards the edge of the road, closer to the stands, without actually meaning to. In a slow pace, he walked along the stands, inspecting the used and new weapons, all glittering under the oil lamps hanging above them.

Then he stopped.

His twin daggers were resting side by side on a used weapons stand in their blood red scabbards, their golden hilts shining brightly under the soft light. For a second, Sebastian looked at them with a slackened jaw, one shackled hand reaching out for them impulsively. And as soon as he touched the nearest one, his hand was whipped at cruelly, breaking him from his trance. When he looked up at the seller, his face twisted with ire. The merchant was one of the traders who bought all the stolen goods from the bandits that had kidnapped them.

“You fucking leech!” He yelled, reaching for the daggers yet again and getting whipped for it all the same.

“I don't have anything to sell to the slaves! Go away!” The merchant yelled back.

“So, selling people was not enough, you even sell their belongings, you pillager!” Sebastian made it as if he was going to jump over the stand and tackle the merchant, but his arm was caught by Kimi, a burning sensation immediately making him wince.

Fed up with the situation that he was in, he shrugged Kimi's hold ferociously with a yell of “Let me go!” and immediately went for the merchant's throat, catching the guy from the front of his shirt, dragging him over his stand towards the road.

“Selling robbed goods is so profitable, huh? Better than grave robbing, at least! What have you done with all those things you robbed from those innocent people?” He demanded again only to be manhandled back by Kimi and someone else who was sturdier than him. It was Arnall and his hold was very strong. 

Incensed and utterly frustrated at being treated like the scum, Sebastian struggled more, screaming accusations at the seller. “This man works with bandits and kidnappers! Everything he sells is robbed from the people the bandits kidnapped! Those are mine, the blades have jagged edges on their outer sides! They are unique!”

“Sebastian, calm down!” Kimi shook him from his arm, hurting him more without knowing. “Creating a scene helps no one!”

Only to stop the pain, Sebastian tried to control himself. “He is working for those bandits. Can't you see the things he sells? Those things are what remain from people like me whom they enslaved or even killed! These people kill and sell their own, Kimi!” He spoke as calmly as he could, but his voice was this short from actually shouting. Trying to get away from Kimi's touch by drawing his shoulder in, Sebastian stepped back towards Arnall to escape from the pain. But for some reason, Kimi's eyes narrowed down further upon his attempt, holding onto him more firmly, tugging Sebastian back to himself forcefully.

For the life of him, Sebastian couldn't understand why Kimi couldn't see how right he was, but his touch hurt too much to bear in his agitation. “Unhand me.” He demanded, only for Kimi's ears, because the skin really smarted and started to pulse with a horrible sensation. Kimi suddenly seemed quite upset with him, but eventually he let him go. Sebastian covered his arm with his shawl, finally taking an easy breath, but he was still angry.

“Is that your slave?” The merchant asked Kimi with contempt, his whip at the ready in his hands. Two burly people came beside him, either his friends or his slaves.

“So what?” Kimi's souring mood was palpable as he turned and faced the merchant. Just then, the city patrols came in, too, trying to disperse the curious onlookers who were observing the commotion that Sebastian had created.

“Then keep a better eye on him,  _ Bey _ !” He spat the honorific, aiming to rile Kimi up. “Chain down that vicious dog of yours tighter!”

“What did you say, you scum?!” Sebastian snarled and tried his hardest to shake off Arnall, but another man came to his aid and he was practically hauled up from his feet after Kimi ordered them to take him back. Sebastian kicked and screamed, but eventually his voice died away.

Kimi turned towards the merchant, inspecting his smug face and considering.

“Is everything alright?” One of the patrols asked.

“Absolutely.” Kimi answered. “We were in the middle of a transaction just a few minutes ago.” The moment he finished his words, he drew one of the daggers, pretending to not hear the protests of the merchant and his men's grunts. 

He inspected the janbiya. It was quite an elegant one, actually fit for a prince. Its engraved hilt was made from a gold alloy, the hand guard was decorated with green stones and just as Sebastian had claimed, the outer edge of the blade had teeth like juts lined facing the hilt like a saw. It was really beautiful, fit for someone fierce like Sebastian.

“Name your price for these.” He challenged the merchant, pointing the blade towards him.

The calm look in his eyes made everyone stop for a second before the merchant started to laugh. “As if you could buy them, ha ha ha!”

“Then take this.” In the blink of an eye, as the merchant was still laughing, a pouch filled with gold pieces was stabbed on the earthen wall with Sebastian's dagger, just beside the merchant's head, shutting him up in fear.

The men immediately made it to attack Kimi but four men emerged from the crowd as if materializing from thin air, their daggers and kilij right under the necks of the merchant's men.

“Hey! Hey! What do you think you are doing! Hey!” The patrols surrounded them, too, making Kimi sigh in annoyance. He undid his turban, revealing his face. The patrols immediately drew away, looking apologetic. “Bey, did they bother you?” One of them asked.

“No. He was just about to wrap those daggers for me.” Kimi nodded to the men and the patrol guards were gone, forcing the crowd of people to disperse, too.

The merchant did as he was told, wrapping the daggers in a velvet cloth in fear before he gave them to one of Kimi's men. Kimi came closer to the stand. When he talked, he spoke in a calm and hushed voice, the look in his eyes was colder than ice deserts. “You are a lucky guy to be able to still breathe after harming and demeaning something that belongs to me,  _ Bey _ . But if I see you around the next day, I might change my mind.”

The merchant was as white as a sheet of paper as Kimi turned around and left the man to stand there stone still as if he had seen a ghost.

“His eyes glowed...” The merchant swallowed and murmured to himself, his voice slightly trembling. “His eyes glowed like gold...”

* * *

When Kimi returned, Nico was inspecting the notebook that Sebastian had filled about the health conditions of their men. He was sitting right beside the fountain, the table was covered with paperwork forgotten on the side in favor of Sebastian's notebook. The velvet covered parcel was there, too, brought in by Kimi's men.

“You two have such sour looks tonight.” Nico smiled softly at his silently glowering friend. Kimi would seldom resort to violence or physically express his frustration when he was angry, but his passive aggressiveness would always be visible from a mile.

“Where is he?” Kimi took a seat beside Nico.

Nico poured him some tea. “He refused to eat anything and went up to your room.” He watched how his friend's eyebrows creased together upon the news. “Even though he hasn't eaten since the morning...” He added for good measure to see how that affected Kimi and he saw what he was looking for. Kimi was worried, but he was quick to erase the feeling from his face and eyes.

“His choice.” Kimi sighed in exasperation. “He created quite the commotion yet again.”

“Arnall told me about it. He is a troublemaker, so I expected this much from him. He is like your ifreeths, unruly and rebellious.”

Kimi let out humourless snort and turned his head away, still irritated. “The one in my room seems to be quite fond of him.”

Nico laughed at the news. “Really? Oh, good heavens!”

“Please stop, Nico. It even mocked me last night, threatened me.”

“Why?” Nico was aware that sometimes ifreeths refused to listen to Kimi's orders and even rebelled him, but this was both dangerous and completely unusual.

“It said if I continue mistreating him, it'll burn the house down.”

“What? Mistreat? Kimi, did you hurt him somehow?”

“Why would I do that? That night was a misunderstanding. He even healed the injury he had made.” But he knew he was not completely telling the truth.

Kimi couldn't sleep well last night, the sight of the other youth's tears was so disturbing. But for the life of him, he didn't understand what made Sebastian cry like that. He hadn't said anything wrong, hadn't done anything that could be misconstrued. He'd even cleaned Sebastian's wounds for him. Though not many people were aware of this, but he was a prince by all rights and he had cleaned a slave's feet, not that he'd done that to brag about it. He'd really wanted to ease the other's pain a bit, just like he'd done for him. But why...

“I don't understand him at all.”

Nico's eyes widened and his eyebrows rose in clear bewilderment upon the rare admission. He observed his friend's face, looking for a clue. “Kimi, why did you buy him?”

“I don't know!” Kimi vengefully drank his tea, burning his tongue.

Nico sighed, fully aware that Kimi knew the reason all too well, but was currently blind to it. “Then let's remove the chains. I can't even guess when was the last time the poor guys had the chance to have a bath and wore clean clothes.”

“No. The chains remain.”

“Why?”

“I don't want to mark them.”

“Mark Sebastian, you mean... You even bought Pierre for his sake.”

Closing his eyes in irritated acceptance, Kimi conceded. “Yes.”

“Isn't he your slave? Don't all your slaves bear their master's mark? Carrying around those chains and shackles has to be demeaning for someone with a pride like that.”

“With such a pride, you think he'll feel alright about getting branded?” Kimi pinched the bridge of his nose. “But then again, he'll just erase it, Nico.” He put the tea cup back on its saucer a bit harshly than he'd intended and unwrapped the cloth around his shoulders to pull his vest down his injured side, showing it to Nico.

There was only a very small blemish left on Kimi's skin, Nico's jaw going slack upon the sight. “Wow, that's...”

“Unbelievable, yes. Erasing a tattoo wouldn't be a problem for someone who could cure a possible collarbone fracture and a heavy bruise in just two days, leaving almost no trace behind.”

Greatly impressed by Sebastian's ability, Nico nodded, turning his eyes back to the open pages of Sebastian's notebook, thoughtful. Sebastian was an extraordinary man, it was for sure, but Kimi was even more so, too.

“Use those sun treads that your girls weave.” He offered.

Kimi could see how the sun maidens, Arinna, weaved life and fertility with the treads from the sun. He could use the sun rays, undo or redo the knots, tie things down and even let them flourish or destroy them with the treads, but he desisted from ever doing so. His existence was causing enough abnormalities as it was, who was he to decide what to live and what to die. The sun was as merciless as it could get in this barren continent; there was no need for his extra intervention when he couldn't even use the rays properly.

“I don't trust myself with those things.” He explained. “They feel like bird feathers in my hands, but...” I can't control them properly...

Nico knew how his friend would have finished the words. “Then again, nothing guarantees that Sebastian won't try to escape even when he is in chains.” He mused, which was quite correct. “Trying the treads is the best solution.” He added, risking to be seen as heartless, playing the devil's advocate.

“I can do and undo the knots made by my Arinna, but I don't know how to undo it if I sew them myself.”

Nico sipped his tea, refilling Kimi's cup. He had witnessed how dangerous and devastating those treads could be if they were used wrong. At best, they scorched things to coal instead of giving life to them. When they were kids and Kimi had been newly awakened to his powers, Nico had secretly mourned over many trees and flowers. Even though he knew Kimi had been hurting as much as himself for being unable to control his powers, Nico couldn't help being sorry.

Arinna refused to teach Kimi how to govern them and they didn't know why.

He sighed softly and tried to disperse his dark thoughts. “But Sebastian will escape sooner or later. He'll find a way to get rid of those chains somehow and then he'll be a free man again. Then who'd believe that he used to be a slave?”

Kimi was aware of the inevitable, too. “Even then, I won't do that, Nico.” He finalized the argument.

The answer didn't surprise Nico. Yet, he really wondered what could possibly stop a hurricane like Sebastian other than drastic measures like this. He futilely hoped that Sebastian would not test Kimi's resolve. And another question was how desperate Kimi could get if he was tested like that. He didn't want to think about it.

To change the subject, he indicated his head towards the documents that were laid out on the table. “I wrote our reply as you requested. I am going to send the letter tomorrow to inform him that we accept the job.”

“I hate Dain.” Kimi played with the water in the fountain.

“You hate almost everywhere, Kimi.”

“It's in the desert.”

“Aren't we already in the desert? And, think about it, it's close to Ingiria. You'll get to swim in the sea if we go to that country.”

“In a roundabout way, yes.” Kimi got up, collecting his shawl and turban. “I should return that to him.” He pointed to the notebook and Nico handed him that. “And that parcel. There are daggers inside it. Keep them among your things for me. I don't want any more weapons in the room.”

Nico nodded. Now that he knew the story behind the janbiya, his interest peaked. “Can I look at them?”

Kimi shrugged as an answer and left his friend alone.

Nico took the parcel and carefully unwrapped the cloth over the daggers and his eyebrows rose at them. 

The daggers were really well made and their hilts were made from a gold alloy that was quite expensive and rare to see. The décor on them looked like a coiling serpent with two tails, the tails forming the hand guards. There were stones engraved on the guards and though it was dark, Nico could see that they were precious stones, most probably emeralds, but he wasn't sure. The blade was peculiar. He knew about custom made weapons, wrought according to the needs and likes of the customers but he had never seen something like this. He grabbed a dagger, tip of it pointing to his elbow and made a motion as if he was going to punch someone.  _ Wow... _ He marveled at it. A wound made by the jagged outer side of the blades would simply destroy the tissue in an incurable way.

He inspected the intricately made scabbard and the hilt to find a clue about who could be the blacksmith that wrought such a beautiful thing, but all he could surmise was that the daggers were made in Shalbatana. Only their people made daggers with such subtle curves and width. The other cultures preferred heavily curved, nearly impractical single edged ones. These were double edged and very light.

He sighed. If only his grandfather or father were here. They were accomplished smiths, and Nico was sure that one of them would know who was the maker of these. The daggers were really unique and beautiful, worthy of royalty. But he was truly astonished at the fact that someone like Sebastian claimed to own them.

The youth was certainly more than what he seemed to be and Nico hoped that Kimi would not let his guard down around him.

TBC...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos? Comments? 👉👈


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Sebastian woke up with quite the hunger since he had eaten next to nothing the day before. But that wasn’t the real reason for his sour mood. He groggily looked around and saw the first lights of the rising sun filtering through the only window of the room. 

He was still livid about his daggers and about the way Kimi had acted last night. Ordering his men to haul him up and away as if Sebastian was some garbage to be removed, as if his claims meant nothing. It hurt him even though he knew that here he was just a lowly slave whose words were apparently cheaper when put against a thief’s so-called social status. Not that he would ever suffer through this, but Sebastian knew that he was lucky for not being beaten up for his behavior, because he had seen slaves being treated less than dirt when they angered their masters. But Sebastian had been a free man not long before.

He had always despised the idea of slavery and he was proud to say that his country was one of the few on the continent where slavery was abolished and banned. Though in most of the countries he had visited time after time again, slavery was partially banned or done under strict circumstances; such as only trading the prisoners of war or people who couldn’t pay their dues to the kings or the sultans, but everyone was aware that people involved in this inhuman trade could always find loopholes around the regulations or solved some problems with the power of money. As long as it wasn’t completely banned, slavery was always going to find new forms or ways to exist.

Even someone like Nico, who could buy the services of anyone he wanted, had quite the number of slaves. Though neither Pierre nor Sebastian had shown their use for him yet, Nico had been gentle with them to the point of making Sebastian question the real reason why the Bey had bought them. Nico was unlike any other slave owner tradesman that Sebastian had known. He was not needlessly cruel; he looked calm and gave off an easygoing vibe. Come to think of it, even though Sebastian still couldn’t fathom what Kimi was, the blond was calm and collected, too, giving less to go by than Nico, who was much more expressive and talkative than his business partner, friend, or whatever Kimi was. In fact, contrary to Sebastian’s nature, Kimi was calm and sometimes inexpressive to the point of being infuriating. He honestly wondered if there was a way to fire the other man up even as he generally looked bored out of his skull.

Sebastian huffed and got up, not even sparing a glance towards Kimi’s side. He directly went into the adjacent bathroom. He was really in need of a proper bath, but guessing that it was not going to be possible in the near future, he cleaned himself as best as he could. He filled the basin with clean water and took it inside to wake Pierre up.

The said boy was already awake when Sebastian returned. He was untying the bandages around his torso gingerly as his broken rib was still not completely mended. Though no visible bruise or internal hemorrhaging was left, Sebastian currently didn’t have the stamina to completely heal his friend. He was hungry, he had his own wounds even though they were little, and treating Kimi and his men’s minor problems without having a chance to swim or be near an alive water body had depleted his strength. He could still do it, but he doubted that he would be able to lift a finger after that for a whole day. Since he didn’t have the luxury to laze around until he'd feel better, Pierre’s treatment had to go slowly.

The brown haired boy smiled at him quietly as a greeting and Sebastian sat before him to begin his morning treatment.

“Kimi seems to have woken up before us this time.” He talked with a small voice as Sebastian handed him the basin to clean himself.

Sebastian turned towards the fire place to get the kettle going, his eyes involuntarily skipping to the empty bed near it. So, Kimi had left early. Sebastian shrugged, betraying his sour mood. Fine by him…

“What happened, Seb? You look somewhat angry.” Pierre observed.

Setting the kettle over the dying flames, Sebastian fed the fire with a few pieces of coal and wood. “Last night, I saw the merchant who bought the robbed goods from those bandits on the outskirts of Nefer that day.” He turned back to Pierre.

The teen grimaced in distaste. “And then?”

Sebastian opened the oil jars and rubbed some oil in his hands. As he massaged Pierre’s side, they continued their talk. “I saw my daggers on that pillager’s stand.” Pierre’s eyes widened at that. “As expected, nobody believed me when I said who that damned man was. I guess I caused a commotion and Kimi made his men remove me from there.”

“And the daggers?”

“Not that I expected to get them, but I think I have lost them for good this time.”

Pierre knew how Sebastian loved those daggers, but he could also see that Sebastian’s ire had another cause. Yet he wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to force his elder to talk about the real reason which he could already guess.

Being ill, Pierre was aware that Sebastian was getting the brunt of being a slave, most probably shouldering two people’s worth of misfortune in Pierre’s stead, too. He couldn’t even begin to guess what kind of hell it had to be for Sebastian to live under these circumstances because of Pierre’s ineptitude. Even though Sebastian admonished him for doing it several times, Pierre couldn’t help but blame himself for the situation that they were in.

He returned to himself by Sebastian’s voice. “These bandits are not simply foolhardy hooligans. They act like an organization, what with having all these connections with shady tradesmen and such.” Sebastian was contemplating to himself. “If we hear about them more in the future, I won’t be surprised.”

“Those men talked all kinds of gibberish but most of them used the language of Shalbatana and the common tongue.” Pierre added.

Sebastian made a sound of agreement in his throat. “Their clothes and weapons were also mostly of that country’s custom. Pierre, those men are killing and selling their own people. It is not the first time we have seen people like them, but think about it… That slave trader who sold us to these people… How quick was that they procured our identification documents… How lax is the city patrolling stations and customs offices here are for these men to easily smuggle stolen goods and then sell them around without a shred of fear?”

“You mean the authorities are working with them, too?”

“Maybe not working, but I’d say they are turning a blind eye to what is happening. Shalbatana is becoming a richer country after the implementation of the Arda Dam, but only the northern part of it where there are fertile fields. What do the people of the south do then? What can the people living in the desert do other than herding camels and cattle?” Sebastian stopped for emphasis. “They steal. They thrive on smuggling rare goods like sugar and salt and hashish. And if it's not enough, they capture their own people and sell them in to slavery. That’s all there is to it.”

Pierre nodded at that. “And for a few bits of silver or gold, the authorities ignore them.”

“Yes.” Sebastian finished his massage, redoing the bandages on his friend.

“It seems that Nico and Kimi are from Shalbatana, too. How can they stay calm about it?”

Sebastian shrugged at that, getting up. “Being a tradesman requires that kind of mentality, I guess.” He narrowed his eyes down. “As long as your caravan is safe, you care about nothing…” He muttered even though he couldn’t half believe in what he had said. He still had his doubts about Kimi, but Nico didn’t seem like that kind of a callous man. Then again, one should trust no one other than himself in this desert.

“I’ll go and get us some breakfast.”

And as soon as Sebastian made it out of the door, he saw one of the servants carrying a small tray upstairs towards Kimi’s room. He tried to take the tray but the servant ignored him. “You are expected downstairs.”

“Right now?” Sebastian eyed the food tray with a longing he couldn’t hide. But the servant nodded. “Yes, right now.”

Dragging his chains behind him in desolation, Sebastian went downstairs and looked around the stone yard and the pillars. When he saw Kimi sitting under the building’s shade comfortably, his eyebrows furrowed in ire, but he didn’t say anything, approaching him.

“We are going out.” The blond informed him and got up, correcting the position of his kilij on his belt.

“For what?” Sebastian tersely asked, even though he knew that it was childish to antagonize the other. “Haven’t I already seen all your men?”

“That job is done.” Kimi answered. He eyed Sebastian for a moment and then as if he remembered something, he turned his head away. “But you have promised them remedies, haven’t you?” He added.

Sebastian’s eyes widened at the question. “But I need to make a list of ingredients for them. You can’t find most of them premade. You need to boil or crush those things by yourself before they are of any use.”

Kimi seemed to consider that. “Don’t you have your notebook with you?” And upon Sebastian’s negative answer, he told him to go and get it.

Not really wanting to go out for this errand, Sebastian did as he was told reluctantly. Kimi was waiting for him at the gates. Without any preamble, they went out and Sebastian dragged his feet as he flipped through his notebook, making a mental list of the things that he could make Kimi buy. 

The premade remedies that some people sold were all scams and could be really harmful. There were few honest apothecaries that Sebastian could trust, yet they did not live in this country or the city. So, making his own remedies was always the safest way. And Sebastian immensely enjoyed doing that.

Even if he'd had the means to rejuvenate himself after each treatment, he wouldn't want to heal all these people by himself by just relying on his power alone. He generally preferred taking the edge of the illness with his power and then leave the rest to the herbs, oils, seeds, roots and anything that one could imagine to find in an apothecary. This gave him a sense of normalcy and he cherished it.

Even as he was deeply immersed in his own thoughts, Sebastian was aware of Kimi’s somewhat fidgety behavior. Kimi was trying to keep pace with Sebastian’s sloppy and slow walking and was stealing glances at him from time to time as if he had something on his mind but couldn’t talk about it. Sebastian ignored it, he was still angry with Kimi for last night and about the new shackles. But he had to confess that seeing him acting like this cooled some of his ire. Then again, even in exchange for seeing this, he really didn’t want to run errands when he felt this miserable. “Was this so urgent that we had to go out even before eating something?” He couldn’t help but ask.

“I hate the heat; it is cooler in the morning.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes at Kimi’s practicality. “For someone doing caravan trade in a desert that’s a neat preference.” He nearly snorted.

“I did not choose to be a trader.” Kimi side eyed him and Sebastian caught his pale green eyes with his surprised gaze. Surprised, because this was the first time Kimi had disclosed something about himself.

The immediate question that came to his mind was  _ "Then, why are you doing it? Are you forced into it?" _ But he reined in his curiosity, not wanting Kimi to close off. Instead, he asked, “What did you want to be then?”

For a moment, Kimi looked surprised at the question, too, as if he had never considered it before. His gaze turned back to the road and he thought.

“A fisherman… Perhaps…” Was his hesitant, unsure reply.

His wonder growing, Sebastian tucked his notebook under his sash. “So you like the sea…” He assumed.

“Not just the sea in particular.” Kimi corrected. “It is just that fishing is the first job that comes to my mind which lets you be close to the water.”

Sebastian didn’t say anything, silently observing the other. So Kimi loved the water in any of its forms, huh? Yet how ironic was his situation, being in the middle of a desert, probably born in a country with no coastline to the sea, and having a core of fire and that weird body temperature of his… Kimi was an unfortunate guy through and through, because Sebastian could see that even the morning sun mocked Kimi’s preference. It seemed like the sun was shining upon the other in a different way. Sebastian couldn’t explain it, but Kimi’s hair, eyes, and skin looked much more alive than any of the things around him. Everything looked a bit pale in comparison to him. Or maybe everything looked as they were supposed to be and Kimi was the irregularity here. 

He didn’t quite get it, but he had heard and read about the people of the south who were blessed and favored by the sun and people of the north who were blessed by all forms of water. Even though they were believed to be in legends, Sebastian was willing to think that Kimi could be one of those people of the sun. Considering what he himself was, Sebastian was ready to believe these kinds of legends as truths disguised as tales.

“My father was a fisherman, too.” Sebastian commented. It was only fair to share something of his own.

Kimi’s eyes turned back to him. “Was?” He saw Sebastian’s expression change into a serious and forlorn one.

“He died at the sea when I was little.” Sebastian remembered the day that he had heard of the news bitterly. It was also the day that his powers had manifested and that was when he had become frightened of the destruction that he was capable of. No wonder the elders of his country had practically kicked him out of the country into a life of partial exile after they had witnessed what Sebastian could do when he was devastated. He had laid ruin to the lands.

“My condolences...” Kimi’s soft voice shook Sebastian out of the unwanted and disturbing memory. He nodded at the brunette who was eying him as if he could tell that Sebastian had remembered something unpleasant. For a second there, Sebastian enjoyed the look of not knowing what to say that was painted on Kimi’s face and he shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. “Old story…” He mumbled, downplaying how disturbed he’d felt earlier.

There was hesitation in Kimi’s gaze, but he relented and changed the subject. “You know what we have to get?”

“More or less...” Sebastian answered, internally thankful that the subject was closed. “But if you are in a hurry, you’ll have to send in someone else in your stead. We might have to search for some of these things the whole day.”

That made Kimi’s eyes narrow down into bored half masts and Sebastian had to suppress a chuckle at the sight. “What?” He asked, feeling somewhat vengeful in a playful way. “You thought we’d find everything in a shop or something?”

When Kimi refused to answer and turned his head away, he actually chuckled this time at the other’s naivety. He didn’t see how Kimi had turned back to him upon the sound and gazed at him with wonder and then with a soft expression as if he felt relaxed at the sight of Sebastian’s momentary mirth.

“We won’t even find some of the ingredients even if we upturn the whole city since herbs of this part of the continent are mostly endemic.” Sebastian sobered, but his eyes were still lively.

“Endemic?” Kimi asked. “In what way?”

“You know nothing about botany, do you?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow when he saw the incomprehension on Kimi’s face. “Sometimes some herbs or trees or vegetation are unique to a location. They can’t grow in an environment with different soil or weather conditions.” Then he stopped and shrugged in a dismissive way. “Sometimes they can, but they adapt gradually and turn into a slightly different kind of the same species, losing one aspect and gaining another. This is a desert that we live in. The conditions are getting more extreme day by day. In the past, when there wasn’t a dam upon the River Arda, I am sure some herbs used to be much more common than they are now. People of Shalbatana destroyed their environment. Those lands are immersed under that huge lake now. We made the conditions more severe than they already were.”

“That dam is a necessity.” Came Kimi’s to the point reply. “Those people tied their hopes of survival to that dam and to the irrigation canals.”

It was really hard, but Sebastian controlled the knee jerk reaction of his angry rebuttal from spilling out. Kimi certainly had to be from Shalbatana, advocating the existence of the dam like the local people and the farmers did. Yet he couldn’t stop himself from uttering a piece of his mind.

“Necessity? Yes, I can understand that, but that dam is a short term solution and nobody seems to think at what cost it was built.”

“What do you think you know about it?” Kimi’s voice was suddenly cold.

A bit surprised by the defensive sound of it, Sebastian turned and looked at the other, trying to understand why he suddenly seemed more imposing and unapproachable. “About what?” He asked, never one to step down when it came to talking about this subject. “The people or the dam?”

“Both.” Kimi answered, now his upper body was turned to him, too, his shoulders tense.

“Hey, easy there.” Sebastian half smiled in a nervous way and half warned as if he was in any position to do that with his hands and feet chained. But Kimi’s defensiveness of the subject irritated him. “I am the last person you’d want to engage in a talk of water politics, Kimi. I am not from your lands, but I have been traveling this desert and your country since I was ten. I know a few things about rivers, lakes, and oases and I have seen how that dam of yours has affected the surrounding countries to yours.”

Kimi seemed to consider Sebastian’s words in quite a serious and tense countenance. After a few beats, as if he didn’t want to further the argument, he sharply turned his face towards the road. “Right, it is not the time or place for that.” He conceded the argument on a cold and indifferent tone, but asked something else. “Why do you think I’m from Shalbatana?”

“You  _ are _ from Shalbatana.” Sebastian turned his face away, too. “Your dialect, the subtle curve of the kilij that you are carrying, the way you defend the dam… Are you a mercenary for hire?”

Looking a bit dismayed, Kimi sharply refuted the question. “No.”

“You look like a soldier more than a trader.” Sebastian tried to bait Kimi, but the other youth chose not to elaborate on that.

“And you certainly look more than a healer.”

“Everybody is more than what they look.” Sebastian shrugged. “That’s the interesting part of being human.”

Kimi remained silent at that and looked a bit self conscious as he needlessly corrected his bright belt and the position of his kilij. It looked as if he was displeased about something. Sebastian guessed that Kimi didn’t like others learning about him even though the information was about something as trivial as what his homeland was.

“So where are you from?” Kimi asked the inevitable and expected question. Apparently he was curious today.

Sebastian was not about to tell him that he and Pierre were from maybe the sole country that the people of Shalbatana couldn’t get along or wanted anything to do with. He was from Kissaara, the northernmost country that stood between the Great Sea and Shalbatana, where River Arda expanded into a huge delta and met with the waters of the Sea. And as a result of the dam in Kimi’s country, that delta was doomed to erode back into the sea and there was less and less water in the wells or in the small lakes or brooks around the country. All the water was being greedily collected in the middle part of the river basin by the dam and the river looked like a swamp around where it met the Sea when before that land had been used for agriculture in the past.

“Take a guess.” Sebastian refused to tell the truth or lie about it.  _ Let him think whatever he wants _ , he thought.

Kimi seemed to seriously consider it for a while. His eyes were sharp as he regarded Sebastian, but he didn’t say anything about the displeasure that he felt because of Sebastian’s roundabout way of talking.

“I’d say you’re from Shalbatana if I weren’t from there and didn’t know my people better.”

Sebastian kept himself from snorting at that.

“Most probably somewhere with a shore, like Qenaan, since you said your father was a fisherman.” Kimi made his guess and to his surprise Sebastian’s face betrayed nothing. “Aren’t you?” He couldn’t help but ask.

Sebastian, aware of the slight irritation that rolled off of Kimi, could only nod, not willing to elaborate.

“But then again, you know these southern lands as if you belong here.” Kimi observed, persistent and talkative uncharacteristically.

Sebastian didn’t want to disclose more than what Kimi could already guess, because Kimi and his men were quite secretive. Considering his position, Sebastian had to be secretive, too.

“I like helping people and I have to travel around to find the people in need. I bet I’ve visited as many cities as you merchants have seen.”

Sebastian’s answer was not satisfactory again, because he could have been helpful by being a healer in his own lands, opening a place of sorts to care for patients. But Kimi didn’t probe further about why Sebastian and his friend preferred to roam instead of settling down in one place in their homeland. Everybody had their reasons just like he himself had for having to bear with being a caravan trader, never stopping at one place for long. In time, Kimi supposed, he would learn about Sebastian’s reason sooner or later.

The morning bazaar was quite crowded contrary to Sebastian’s expectation, but he was still hungry and thus a little bit sour as he followed Kimi’s lead. Now Kimi was walking purposefully, going for a shop that he had to have in mind. Within a few minutes they were before a nice and cozy shop, cool because of its stone structure.

Sebastian inspected the dried, crushed or preserved herbs and oils with the same childish awe that he always had in an apothecary. Forgetting his chains and what they entailed for, he reached for jars, baskets and sacks, not seeing how the shop owner shared a tight look with Kimi. It was as if something in Kimi’s gaze was able to prevent the immediate reaction of the merchant when the presumptuous slave dared to touch his goods.

Here in the south, slaves, especially the chain bound ones were seen as less than dirt. They were considered dangerous and unworthy since they had not proven to be valuable enough to be branded by their master’s mark. Sebastian was not aware, but Kimi’s silent yet sinister presence was a huge deterrent and the reason that some people tolerated Sebastian’s presence in their near vicinity.

Blissfully ignorant of his position, Sebastian started to name what he needed and how much of it he needed. The shop owner prepared what was asked of him, but he kept silent even when Sebastian asked him if he had this or that. After a few tries, Sebastian understood the situation and Kimi witnessed how crestfallen his face had turned and how his irritation with the situation became sharp as a knife. But Sebastian’s control of himself was admirable as he waited for the things to be packed.

The shop keeper did not even hand the parcel to Sebastian. Instead, he put the thing on the counter, further away from himself as if Sebastian was a vermin that he’d like to avoid.

All his good mood now gone, Sebastian got the packet and reminded himself that he bore with this kind of assholes for the greater good of the people in need. He had made a promise with those men and he wanted to keep it by making them those remedies.

Kimi was quite surprised by Sebastian’s controlled behavior, too. He had half expected the hot headed youth to create a scene again, but Sebastian had stayed silent, fuming and disappointed, yet in a controlled way. Kimi paid for the parcel and they left.

By now, the market place was disturbingly lively and noisy, city gates now open to the caravans that left or entered. Sebastian followed Kimi in a thoughtful way, trying to keep his mind off of the rude shopkeeper by mentally checking his list. Not paying attention to where Kimi was leading him, Sebastian was surprised after he realized that they entered the shaded yard of a coffee house.

Kimi quickly found himself a nice spot to sit down before a low table and Sebastian resisted the natural urge to rest his feet, too. He stayed standing in irritated reluctance, his gaze questioning Kimi. To his surprise, Kimi motioned for him to sit as if it was natural to share a table with a chained slave. Even though a bit incredulous about Kimi’s nonchalance about being seen sharing a table with a slave, Sebastian did not hesitate to sit down. He dumped the package on the table and raised his eyebrows. “What are we doing here?”

“Getting something for you to eat.” Kimi answered.

Sebastian’s eyes widened a bit, but he quickly averted them to the plate that was set between him and Kimi by a servant. There were several pieces of meat wrapped in flat bread and some boiled root veggies on the table. It smelled mouth watering and reminded Sebastian of his hunger severely.

Kimi pushed the full plate towards Sebastian and urged him to eat. 

A bit apprehensive, Sebastian took one bread roll, and suppressing the compulsive need to check if anyone was watching him, he bit into it. Though meat was not something he'd normally eat for breakfast, he loved the taste of it and it had been a long time since he had last eaten some, so he was not one to turn down the opportunity.

Kimi watched the healer eat as they were served tea in glass cups. He hoped that Sebastian's sour mood would be elevated by the delicious breakfast. He refused to think of this as a peace offering, but at least he was aware that he somehow always managed to upset Sebastian. Not truly understanding even half of the reason behind the other's constant irritation, and dare he say sadness, he couldn't overcome the nagging need to erase that foul mood and upset. Seeing Sebastian like this bothered him. Maybe it was his guilty conscience talking, but Kimi instinctively knew that he was the reason for that dejected and troubled face. Well, at least most of the reason, even though he generally found himself reluctant to admit it in a conscious way.

Sebastian ate in silence, aware that he was being watched by Kimi. The other's attentive gaze was a bit troubling, but by now Sebastian found it useless to point it out to him, knowing that Kimi was going to deny it and close himself off. And Sebastian would hate it to walk around under the hot sun with someone who ignored him. He knew that soldiers spoke less and observed more just like Kimi, yet even though he gave off the vibe of a military upbringing, Kimi refuted that claim earlier. Sebastian doubted that Kimi had any obligation to tell him the truth, but it didn't mean that he had to believe him. Kimi was too reserved and secretive for Sebastian's liking, but his company was not unpleasant. Well... If Sebastian did not count his occasional callousness.

Kimi silently drank his tea, the servant refilling his glass. Ironically, he wasn't aware of how he watched his companion or if he might be bothering the other by his unwavering gaze. He only came to himself when Sebastian directed his eyes at him, as if telling him to stop ogling him. Then, he quickly averted his eyes in suppressed irritation -with himself- but not for a long time as his eyes slowly but surely landed on the other youth again.

Dismayed by his own lack of control, he tried to distract himself by asking. “Do you need anything more for those remedies?”

Finished with his breakfast, Sebastian drank from his tea and mentally checked his list. “A few things more.” He mumbled thoughtfully. “Some of them, as I said before, we can't find here. And I need small glass jars to put the mixes in.”

Kimi nodded at that, saying he'd get someone else to buy them for him. Seeing that Sebastian had finished, he motioned to get up and leave. 

After a while, they were back among the crowd. They slowly walked around the streets reserved for spices and exotic things and every time Sebastian needed something, Kimi bought it for him, creating a huge pile of things stashed among Sebastian's arms. But Sebastian did not complain. He loved the nice aromatic smell that rose from the pile and these streets were covered with huge pieces of fabric from above, creating shelter for them from the sun. Yet after a while his arms felt sore and as if Kimi had read his mind, one of his men appeared by their side and took away all the packets from him. Relieved from his burden, Sebastian wondered what else they were going to do since it looked like Kimi meant to walk around some more.

Surprisingly, Kimi took him to another coffee house and there he met someone. Sebastian sat somewhere close to them, trying to get a gist of what they were talking about, but all he could understand that there was going to be a large transaction and that they should get ready for it. Listening in on them discreetly, Sebastian drank a large cool drink, both fruity and sour-sweet in a pleasant way, refilled as many times as he finished it.

The master, Nico, appeared to be about to sell a large sum of valuable fabric, something like silk, to a far away country and that they needed all their men at their disposal here. 

Sebastian wondered where they aimed to go, which country they were talking about, but he couldn't hear anything about it. That was vital information for him, since he had to know their route to plan an escape as soon as possible. To tell the truth, he'd hate to go deeper into the desert, because the plainer the landscape was the harder it was to get oneself lost to their pursuers. Then again, Sebastian believed that he and Pierre were going to get their opportunity sooner or later.

When it seemed like Kimi and the man's talk was over, they were served dried fruits and some kind of nicely smelling bread and cheese. Sebastian was given the same food, too, which was surprising considering that everyone in the coffee house could easily see that he was a lowly slave. Yet here he was getting the same treatment as a free man. Not thinking much of it, he ate his late lunch before Kimi and his man got up to leave. Sebastian followed them.

Their next stop was the streets that sold clothes of all kinds for men and women. Sebastian watched Kimi buy many things, from undershirts and pants to shalvars and thin overcoats. Whatever the blond bought, he bought them in two sizes and made Sebastian carry the items. Not questioning it, Sebastian's attention was elsewhere. He wanted to look for that used weapon's stand and see for himself if his daggers were sold or not. His attachment to them was great because he had been carrying them around since his childhood. But honestly, there was nothing he could do about it even if his daggers were still displayed on the stand.

He wistfully carried Kimi's purchases and before the evening settled over the city, they were back to the store house. Sebastian quickly disappeared to the room upstairs to check upon his friend and Kimi got caught by Nico who wanted him to look over some papers sent by the Customs of the City of Nefer.

As they ate, Nico pointed towards the bundle of things in the stone yard that Sebastian had left there. “That's quite a lot. Don't you think so?” He observed with a meaningful smile.

“They'll need them and I can't be troubled to buy them later.” Kimi answered, pointedly looking elsewhere.

“So you buy them in heaps, huh...” Nico continued to smile knowingly, trying to stop himself from actually snorting at Kimi's obviousness. 

Kimi, as expected, did not even bother to answer that, digging his fork into his dinner.

“At least Sebastian is dedicated to his job.” Nico probed further, because he had seen the packets of herbs and other things that one of the men brought into the kitchen area.

“His friend seems well enough to work, too.” Kimi changed the subject.

Nico humored him. “Just in time... We need our animals checked, the road is long.”

“And boring.” Kimi deadpanned.

Nico apologetically smiled at Kimi's reluctance to cross the desert. Staying somewhere for a few months was fine, but they had to leave eventually sooner or later. In fact, the sooner it was, the better. Even though currently there seemed to be no change in the weather, one could never guess when Kimi's powers would make themselves known. Also, moving around helped to confuse any sorts of bandits who might follow them around to learn their routines in order to find the best time to attack them. Their men were always tight lipped about their business; so, predicting their sporadic travel times was not easy. Nico hoped that it continued to be so.

As they ate and drank their tea afterward, they saw Sebastian come down to get their dinner. 

He looked tired. He slouched a bit and seemed to drag his feet around. Nico watched him in concern, because he could see the amounting fatigue and the weariness were due to Sebastian's captivity. It was more than something physical and he wondered if Kimi was aware of this. He just hoped that no trouble would arise due to it in the future.

Kimi finished his tea in silence and left Nico to his hookah and tea in the yard. He took the bundle of clothes and went upstairs, finding Sebastian and Pierre in the middle of a hushed conversation. He couldn't hear it all, but Sebastian had been telling the teen that he could start walking around tomorrow and get some much needed sun. 

Pierre certainly seemed better even though he had thinned down a bit within the week that Kimi had first seen him. He wondered why Sebastian did not heal his friend immediately like he had done with his collarbone fracture. Maybe he wanted to shelter the slighter male from physical labor seeing that Sebastian had to be the one with the last word here. Kimi suspected that since Sebastian was prone to shoulder the burden or take the lead, Pierre had to be either like a brother to him or a precious underling that Sebastian was feeling responsible for his well being. 

They could also be lovers, because it wasn't uncommon among travelers or caravan people to have same sex lovers, but Kimi did not even deem the possibility as worthy of considering. Why his mind refused to even mull over the idea more than a few seconds, he did not know or question. But he was sure that lovers did not act like brothers.

He left the bundle on his bed and shed his shawl and shirt, undoing his numerous belts. He took his kilij with him to the bathroom, but he did not spend much time there since he had other plans for a good soak. Returning back, he watched Sebastian massage his friend's side and help him clean himself as best as he could before steeping some tea for Pierre. This time he made a different tea, apparently he had taken some of the herbs from the kitchen. It smelled sweet and as Kimi sat on his bed without bothering to dry himself up, he asked a cup from it.

“But it is for muscle pains and to increase appetite.” Sebastian tried to explain, but Kimi insisted.

Pouring two cups for Kimi and Pierre, Sebastian handed them their drinks and started to play with the fire after feeding it with a bit of coal.

“Don't play with him.” Kimi warned Sebastian, unable to help himself when he felt how pleased the Ifreet of the fire was upon getting Sebastian's attention. He didn't understand the fire djinn's fascination with the youth and why the Ifreets vehemently refused to obey him after he had bought and brought Sebastian in.

Sebastian turned around, dropping the thin metal stick that he had been pushing and moving the coal bits around. “ _ Him _ ?” He asked in incomprehension.

Kimi blinked, realizing how he had called the djinn as if he had been speaking with Nico who knew about the Ifreets of fire and the maidens of the Sun, Arinna. “I meant the fire.” He tried to clumsily elaborate.

“I understood that much.” Sebastian's eyes narrowed down in annoyance, as if he was offended by the explanation of the obvious. “I didn't know that there are people who referred to fire with the male pronouns...” He seemed surprised again.

Kimi debated what to say about it, the truth or something elusive and ordinary... But Sebastian spoke and proved yet again how well he knew the people of Shalbatana.

“I know your chief god is male and he governs the sun. But I thought fire was something completely different and was not associated with the same god. Am I wrong?”

Kimi looked sideways towards the fire in an irritated manner as if he was blaming it for Sebastian's sudden curiosity in his country's pantheon, because he was the only one who could hear the mocking tone of the chuckles that the Ifreet of the heart was making at his expense.

“You are wrong.” He said in obvious reluctance as if he hated to talk about the subject. “The sun governs everything and fire is one of them.”

“Then again you are the first one I heard who talks about the fire as if you are talking about a sentient being.” Sebastian pressed further, charmed by the new knowledge. He wondered if fire had spirits, too, just like inland water resources had their guardian spirits, Aranks.

“Ever heard of Ifreets?” Kimi asked, giving up on trying to hide what the healer or his friend could learn eventually if they asked around enough.

“Malicious demons?” Pierre was the one who spoke, drawing the attention to himself. “Well...” He looked a bit sheepish as he tried to say more. “They are considered bad news in where I was born.”

Kimi drank a bit of tea from his cup, secretly enjoying the offended way the fire continued to burn. “They are djinns. We believe that they dwell in the fire places or the hearts of the houses. If there is a certain place where people frequently build a fire, then that place has its Ifreet, its guardian.”

Sebastian looked captivated and Kimi was positively taken aback by his lively expression and rapt attention. 

“They are mostly neutral beings, neither malicious, nor benevolent. But sometimes they are provoked or offended for whatever reason and burn down the house or destroy the site where people build fire, like camps or furnaces.”

“You speak as if you know them.” Sebastian observed with a bit of humor, knowing that it was unlikely.

_ If only you had any idea... _ Kimi thought in self deprecation. “We don't speak about them much. Maybe that's the reason you have never heard anyone talking about them with male pronouns. We believe that they are a fragment of the sun and revere them silently.”

“So the Ifreets are male because your sun god is male...” Sebastian raised his eyebrows.

“No, because they choose to be attributed to whatever they deem as male or masculine.”

Sebastian snorted at that. “Not because people like to attribute the power of the fire with maleness or masculinity, but because the Ifreets like to think so of themselves, huh?”

Kimi inwardly cringed at Sebastian's sharpness and his own slip.

“You really speak as if you know them.”

Kimi counted himself lucky that Sebastian obviously considered what he correctly guessed as unlikely and that the others could not hear how happily and maniacally the Ifreet of his room was laughing at him. That little djinn needed to be reminded of who Kimi was, but not tonight.

Sebastian found the clear show of displeasure and derision on Kimi's face as amusing. It was as if the normally indifferent and aloof youth wanted to douse the fire with a bucket of cold water or worse, stomp it with his own feet until the flames died. Apparently Kimi didn't like losing an argument or someone finding an opening of his.

Discreetly shaking his head at the other's antics, Sebastian took back the cups and refilled them. “But all these do not explain why I shouldn't play with him.” He smiled, thinking of his Aranks and how disappointed he had been when he had realized that he was the only one who could see or hear them. He was open to the idea that any fire place or heart had a guardian since he knew the existence of the guardians of the water bodies on land. The idea was a fantastic one and he really wanted to see a djinn with his own eyes. But apparently they were either a legend or Sebastian was not meant to see them.

Kimi sipped at his tea in a totally disinterested and inspirited way, hoping that his attitude would discourage Sebastian from asking more. “Fire should not be disturbed. You should just let it  _ consume itself _ .”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at the enigmatic words and at Kimi's dismissive behavior, suspect written on his face, but he asked no more. He knew that there had to be other supernatural beings around other than his Aranks and Suvkıs, because water was not the only natural force at work in this world. He was really fascinated about this secrecy around the Ifreets, but Kimi seemed to be no longer interested in the subject for some reason.

Of course, he and Pierre had heard about the Ifreets a few times before, but they thought that Ifreets were some kind of a demon. Considering that the fire djinns could be both on the good and the bad side of the spectrum, it was no wonder that people refused to meddle with them.

Sebastian wondered what else he didn't know about the lore of the south and if Kimi had heard anything about the Aranks and the Suvkıs. He doubted it, because their countries had founded their religions around two opposing gods. Shalbatana worshiped the sun and Kissaara held their water god above all else. And most probably, from Kimi's point of view, there was no need to learn anything about the country that they did not have good relations with.

Mentally shrugging off the unpleasant thought, Sebastian helped Pierre lay down and then started to arrange his meager pillow and cover to have a rest, but Kimi stopped him.

“Sebastian, open that bundle and see if they'll fit you and Pierre.”

“Fit us?” Sebastian was clearly surprised, because when Kimi had bought the things in it, he had thought that they were for Kimi or for somebody else. 

Hesitantly, he approached and opened the bundle of clothes. There were heaps of folded garments and for a moment, Sebastian did not know what to do with them. He had not paid much attention when Kimi had been buying them, but now that he could look at them properly, he could see that they were made of fine and expensive fabric. He had certainly seen better ones, but these were not the things one would buy for mere slaves. Sebastian pushed them away, getting upset all of a sudden. “Thank you, but we don't need them.”

The look of incomprehension was so striking on Kimi's face that for a second Sebastian was taken aback. 

“Why?” Kimi asked, not understanding Sebastian's reasoning. “The clothes on you are the only ones I see that you own and they seem to need a through washing.”

Sebastian's face colored upon the remark and yet again Kimi didn't comprehend why the other suddenly looked offended after his words. “You need them.” He tried to break Sebastian's stubbornness, but the other youth was back at his corner of the room again, beating his pillow to fluff it up in a needlessly aggressive way. “Take them as a thank you gift for healing me.” Kimi blurted, at a loss of what more to say.

“I was the one who caused that injury in the first place.” Sebastian replied tersely.

“Yes, but I frightened you into doing it.”

Sebastian cringed at the word  _ frightened _ but it was the truth, he had been cornered and scared that night.

“And Nico suggested this.” Kimi lied, unable to believe himself that he was able resort to lying just to make Sebastian accept the clothes.

“In return of what?” Sebastian asked, sitting on the ground, shielding Pierre who could only listen to the heated exchange with raised eyebrows.

“Nothing.” Kimi replied, a bit of incomprehension showing on his face again. He looked guileless and quite innocent for someone who claimed to be a merchant since his childhood.

“Are you serious?” Sebastian couldn't believe how Kimi was unable to see the implications behind what he was saying. “We are slaves. And in case you haven't realized yet, slaves are given nothing and yet they are expected to hand over whatever they have as if they owed something to their enslavers.”

Offended by Sebastian's accusation, Kimi's eyes sharpened and narrowed down. “Nothing is expected of you other than doing your job for the men and the animals.” His voice was ice cold.

Blinking at the harsh tone of the other, Sebastian sighed. “You can't see this from a slave's point of view, can you?” He was exasperated. “A free man can never understand the concerns of people like us.”

“Believe it or not, not everything is done with an ulterior motive and not every word has ill intent behind it."

Sebastian looked at Kimi long and hard, thinking that it was easier to claim that when one's hands and feet weren't bound. “Certainly...” He bit sourly, the depressed and fatigued look of earlier returning to his countenance. “But not for people like us.” Then he turned around and tucked himself into his uncomfortable sleeping arrangements on the cold and hard ground. He shared a look with Pierre, who was looking at him with concern and a bit of surprise on his face, and then averted his eyes.

“But you need them.” Kimi insisted, a bit angry and actually quite disappointed by the outcome of what he had done for the other two.

“Yeah, but that does not mean we like having to depend on you or anyone else to get them...” Sebastian rebutted yet again and mumbled the rest as if to himself. “...In return of whatever our master wants.”

Sighing silently in bewilderment and dejection, Kimi was this close to slam his head to the nearest hard surface, but thankfully he had much more control over his emotions than that. He continued to sit there, looking at the needlessly stubborn youth who was laying down with his back turned to him and wondered if he had a thing which always managed to rub Sebastian the wrong way. He honestly couldn't wrap his mind around what was so wrong in giving them a few pieces of clothes and why Sebastian was so stubborn and ready to jump to conclusions. Couldn't he just stop being paranoid and take whatever was given to him, because he certainly was in need of the things Kimi had bought?

Thoroughly irritated, he put out the lights and went to his bed, trying to suppress the need to channel his pent up frustration into action. He lay there for quite some time, long after the breathings of the other occupants of the room evened out, but he couldn't get a wink of sleep. Giving up on it, he got up and threw a loose shirt over himself, taking a warm overcoat with him as a precaution. He was going to follow his earlier plan of the night and going to take a dip in the oasis of the city. He was about to leave the room to the dying out flames of the heart, but then he stopped.

Returning back to the pile of clothes, he found the long overcoat that he had bought for Sebastian with a pair of new shalvar and a sleeveless shirt. And then he approached the sleeping youth and shook Sebastian's shoulder none too gently to wake him up.

Startled into wakefulness from his slumber, Sebastian immediately reacted. He sat up and dragged himself away from his intruder in a flash, his dark eyes wide and raw with alertness.

“It is me. Don't be afraid.” Kimi whispered and then to look less threatening, he stood up and walked back a few steps to show that he meant no harm.

Sebastian's alertness slowly but surely turned into tired exasperation now that he understood that he wasn't in immediate danger. “Now what?” He asked, tersely looking up at the towering blond. “It is the dead of the night.”

“We are going out.” Kimi threw him all the clothes that he had taken and walked towards the door.

“Now?” Sebastian hissed. “You must be crazy!”

Kimi was impatient and had a cold, distant attitude as if to assert his position as someone whose orders had to be obeyed. “Get up. I don't have the whole night.”

“Where are you going and what for?” Sebastian's eyes shifted to the clothes on his lap, as suspicious as ever, which was quite understandable considering his position and the time that Kimi had chosen.

Kimi saw no need to beat around the bush. “To the oasis of the city and you are going to wait on me.”

Sebastian's eyebrows drew together and his face took on an angry expression. “Wait on you? You aren't my master.” He rebuked Kimi's indirect claim.

Kimi narrowed his eyes down, annoyed. “I saw how you played with the waters of that fountain at the inn. I saw the longing in your eyes when we passed by the city canals and the pool in the town square today. If you want to see the oasis, then you'll come.”

Sebastian felt disturbed by the other's observations, but for someone who always watched him like a hawk, it wasn't a real surprise for Sebastian to be read like an open book by Kimi. Sighing openly to show his reluctance, he glared at the waiting youth vengefully. “Fine!” He spat.

He got up and covered himself with the overcoat and after checking upon his friend and seeing him awake, he reassured the boy. “You sleep, Pierre. I'll be fine. I just have to accompany him to somewhere and back.”

Pierre made it like he was about to get up, but Sebastian shook his head. “It is alright. He just seems bored and frustrated. He can't harm me.” He whispered after Kimi had left the room. 

Pierre nodded even though he was wary of letting his elder go at this time of the night alone with the unpredictable man. “Please, be safe.” He whispered back, biting on his lip and cursing his own powerlessness as he watched Sebastian go.

Outside, it was pretty cold with a languid but freezing wind lapping around the building. Sebastian followed Kimi with a shiver that ran through his body, silently cursing him for his bullheadedness.

Kimi quickly made it to the stables and woke the stable boy. The servant did not even look surprised as he shook off sleep and started to ready a horse. Kimi, too, took a harness and went for another horse to get it ready.

Sebastian grimaced at the proceedings, wondering how on earth he was supposed to ride a horse with his chains.

The stable boy finished his work quicker than Kimi and he disappeared from there only to return with another man in tow just as Kimi finished his work, too.

“Arnall, Sebastian is riding with you.” Kimi instructed and got on his horse, leaving them without even waiting for a bit.

Not understanding how that was going to work, Sebastian turned around to face the said man who shrugged at him and then manhandled him to the horse's back as if he was a weightless sack.

Finding himself sitting on the animal sideways just like a lady, Sebastian resisted cursing loudly and willed himself to stay civil to get over it quickly. Arnall climbed the horse, too, thankfully at the front, and urged the horse to a slow trot.

They rode under the pale moon, the streets silent as the dead and the wind felt as if it touched at their bones and marrows. At least, Sebastian wasn't getting the brunt of it, Arnall's large frame was like a shield. But he wondered what kind of craziness it took someone to decide to take a dip when it was the coldest hour of the night. Yet then again, with that abnormal body heat of his, Kimi had to find the coldness of the water as a lukewarm bath. Sebastian rolled his eyes at the thought and tried not to lean too much on the man in front of him in his need of sleep. The rhythmic trot of the horse was lulling him and he felt really tired and cold.

Thankfully, they arrived at their destination quickly and Arnall hauled him down and steadied Sebastian before he took the horse and disappeared among the thick foliage of the lake as if he never existed. To believe that he had left Sebastian alone would be idiotic. Arnall seemed to be their watch for tonight and Sebastian shook his head, walking among the nicely smelling shrubs and wild flowers towards the water and the gentle sound of splashes.

To tell the truth, he was quite excited now that he had the opportunity to be near the sole large body of water around. It had been a long time for him, even before his capture, since he had last seen an oasis. Considering the remarkable area that the foliage spread around, this had to be a large or deep lake to be able to sustain a city of this size.

As soon as he reached the damp and loose soil of the shore, he was greeted by the sight of thrown around clothes and a half floating Kimi who was face up, drifting over the water with his eyes closed. His horse was not around and there was no kilij or any other weapons that Sebastian could see among the haphazardly discarded garments.

Sighing and a bit annoyed by Kimi's selfish and aloof behavior, he approached the edge of the dark water as much as he could without wetting his shoes. He sat crouching and touched the cool liquid, shivering pleasantly, but smiling despite himself as he instantly came face to face with the Arank of the oasis who materialized just before him on the surface of the water. Immediately, the spirit guardian chirped his joy in seeing him, talking only for Sebastian's ears, in a language only Sebastian could understand.

_ “King, welcome to my abode! I am honored!” _

Sebastian kept smiling and saluted back in a hushed, nearly inaudible tone, his voice and words sounding like a song in gibberish but meaningful for the spirit who was excitedly waiting to hear them.

“As I am to see you, Nefer's guardian.”

_ “Please, do come closer and replenish yourself.” _ The Arank offered, dancing around Sebastian in a blue light, his face and features indistinct but his shape humanoid. He was around half a meter tall, like a miniature human male, but that was how the Arank preferred to look. Sebastian knew that the spirit could choose to be seen as an animal of any kind or as a properly portioned human with features that could take on expression.

“It is fine like this for the time being.” Sebastian replied, not wanting to be in the water when he couldn't even swim in it because of his chains. Also, he didn't want it when there were two onlookers who were ready to suspect him of anything and everything. Sebastian didn't want to be found out. It would be fatal for him and Pierre.

Disheartened by the reply, the Arank hung his head, his behavior openly showing his upset even though he did not have a face. Then as if understanding Sebastian's reasoning, his head snapped up and his shoulders squared.  _ “Is it because of those?” _ He pointed to the shackles.  _ “I can break them. How dare they chain the King down? Is it this man who comes and swims here? Is it the man who hides in the bushes? I can kill them and free you, King!” _

Seeing that the waters suddenly became alive and started to rise, Sebastian panicked, his eyes widening at the quick way how violent the countenance of the Arank turned even though these spirits were not malicious and were generally peaceful in nature.

“No! No... Nefer, quieten down! I don't want to be found out by these people. They don't know who I am. I have to be careful. Calm down!”

That did the trick as the Arank visibly shrank down, his light turning back to its peaceful pale blue and his countenance nonthreatening. These spirits obeyed Sebastian's words even when they wanted to do the otherwise.  _ “So be it, King.” _ The guardian nodded and the waters were calm again. But apparently, the damage was done, because Kimi was looking at his way with suspicion in his eyes.

“What was that?” Kimi asked, quietly swimming to the shore.

For a panic ridden moment, Sebastian feared that the other might see the Arank even though it was impossible. “What was what?” He asked back, trying to pull a look of incomprehension on his face.

Kimi stood in the water and walked up to Sebastian, who was watching his predatory expression, wondering if he'd been able to feel the unrest in the water. 

The Arank tensed again, too, getting closer to Sebastian as if he wanted to shield him. Sebastian whispered the spirit an order for him to stay calm without moving his lips and cursed himself for approaching the lake under these conditions, bound and not looking at all like the King that the Arank had revered him as. Of course, the loyal spirit would be agitated by this.

“The water stirred after you arrived.” Kimi's tone was accusing.

Sebastian remembered to look surprised by it. “Maybe there is an animal in the lake.” He ventured, hoping that he sounded guileless and unassuming.

“I've swum in this oasis numerous times. That never happened before.”

“So?” Sebastian asked. “What can I do about it? Dive and see for you if there is a crocodile or a large fish in it?”

Not liking Sebastian's irritated and dismissive tone, Kimi sighed in exasperation, without showing any signs of feeling cold as he stood there wet and naked save for his underpants. “The water moved.” He insisted. “Literally... as if it was alive.”

“And?” Sebastian was not about to out himself.

“It happened after you arrived.” Kimi repeated as if he was explaining it to a little kid.

Sebastian sighed exaggeratedly and loudly. “Why did you bring me here?” He stood up, too, burrowing deeper into the wool coat. “As if you haven't irritated me enough, you bring me here in the middle of the night and make me listen to your claims about water moving like it is alive.” He side eyed Kimi to show how fed up he was, his dark gaze catching the moonlight sharply. “Everything in this world is alive in some form or another, Kimi. But I am about to die here, cold and tired and sleepless.”

His questions evaded skillfully and his attention drawn elsewhere, Kimi tried to stop himself from talking back, but he couldn't hold it in any longer. “Why are you so stubborn?” He asked, taking a step towards the other youth. “Why can't you accept something without creating a big deal out of it?”

“Wait, wait… What?” Sebastian chuckled humorlessly. “I am the stubborn one?” It was outrageous. “You are the one who is tormenting me just because I didn't want these clothes. Who is the stubborn one that drags an argument into the dead of the night to this deserted place?”

“I brought you here because I know you wanted to see this lake. I am not stupid. You want to be here as much as I do, so stop whining for once and enjoy what is given to you.”

His mouth going dry, Sebastian's face twisted into a clear show of hostility. “Given to me?” He hissed. “I would have been a free man and go wherever I wanted if I wasn't enslaved. I would have taken whatever I wanted just like you slave masters do. You think you do me a favor, Kimi? You expect me to be thankful for your generosity? Look, it is thanks to you guys that I am like this, watching you enjoy swimming as I stand here and make do with looking on wistfully with chains on my hands and feet.”

“Then come with me.” Kimi grabbed one of Sebastian's chained hands and began dragging him to where he had shed his clothes and shoes.

Thoroughly taken aback by the other's impulsiveness and forcefulness, Sebastian let himself be manhandled, completely in a trance as he watched Kimi procure a bundle of small keys from his clothes and quickly undid the locks on his feet, forcing him to step out of his shoes in the process. In a flash, Kimi stood up and tore away the overcoat from Sebastian's shoulders and reached for his bound wrists.

The strange spell was broken by Arnall's voice which sounded all too close and on the edge. “Bey, everything alright?”

Kimi stopped, one hand gripping one of Sebastian's wrists in a needlessly firm way, the other about to unlock the chain, his sharp eyes watching Sebastian's bewildered ones. “Yes.” He nodded, his tense readiness daring Sebastian to claim otherwise. “You continue your watch.”

“Yes, Sir.” And as soon as Arnall's gruff reply sounded, Kimi unlocked Sebastian's hands and in the blink of an eye, he took off the other's shirt together with the chains, tearing a yelp from Sebastian's mouth as the healer was forced to raise his arms and bend due to the momentum of Kimi's surprising power.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Sebastian yelled, not caring how loud he was being while Kimi dragged him back to the shore with his unrelenting hold on Sebastian's upper arm.

“Taking you to swimming.”

Kimi's smug reply hit him even as he tried to resist the other's pull by digging his feet to the muddy ground. But Kimi had a good grasp on him and he was disoriented and mad with anger; so, his struggle finished in the cool water with him sitting in it, shivering violently and cursing obnoxiously under his breath. 

What was more riling than his situation was finding Kimi standing above him when he opened his eyes and looked up. The other youth was so calm and collected that no one would believe he had just stripped and dragged an unsuspecting man into hypothermia by throwing him into a lake in the middle of a cold desert night. The only thing that was good about this all was the fact that the Arank of the lake was now together with him with a pleased and happy aura.

“Are you satisfied?” Sebastian asked, hugging his naked arms, feeling how his wounds stung on both his ankles and wrists. He couldn't decide if he was happy for being unbound or miserable that he was cold and wet and tired with the most obnoxious man he had ever met as his company.

“Immensely so.” Kimi was not smiling or showing any trace of smugness at what he had done, but Sebastian knew otherwise. It seemed like the other enjoyed causing trouble for him even as he looked as inconspicuous and innocent as ever. It was truly frustrating.

Sebastian watched the other walk away and dive into the water, leaving him alone with the Arank that he couldn't see or hear.

“He freed you, King!” The spirit was happy to see Sebastian unbound and in his waters. Apparently the Arank only cared about Sebastian's well-being without considering under what circumstances that well-being was achieved. So, there was no need to tell the water guardian that Kimi had been the one who had put those shackles on him in the first place.

Shaking himself to suppress his trembling, Sebastian stood up. What was done was done, so he walked deeper into the waters and took a deep breath and dove under. The Arank followed him, his blue light sharpening and showing Sebastian the bottom of his abode.

It was beautiful. It only existed for his eyes and every time Sebastian dove into the depths of a lake or the sea at his home, he felt privileged, honored and refreshed. The coldness of the water bothered him a bit, but he had a core of the same kind, in its purest form. He had made a fuss about it earlier but no coldness of any water on this earth could kill him or drown him. It was just a bit unpleasant at first to get his body temperature used to the cold, but he knew that what kept him safe was his healing ability. The damage of the cold and the lack of oxygen was immediately gone as he swam in the waters. His body did it unconsciously, just like his skin never let him get any scars, rejuvenating itself into its original state as long as he breathed and had water to drink. And another wonderful thing was he could hear the Arank's voice in his head when he was completely immersed into the water. And the spirit could understand Sebastian without him opening his mouth a bit.

_ “Let me heal those wounds...” _ The spirit was saying, his small figure one with the water but visible to Sebastian's eye.

“They are to remain.” Sebastian refused.

_ “Why, King? I can feel how they hurt.” _

“They'll stay there to remind me of my captivity.” Sebastian thought, diving deeper and deeper, seeing small fish and water plants and little snakes and where the waters bubbled up, feeding the lake as if water was boiling from the ground.

“But let me replenish myself, Nefer.” Sebastian stopped and stayed still at the bottom where not even the moonlight penetrated the silent and dark depths.

The Arank's mood elated and the spirit dissolved himself into the water. Sebastian closed his eyes, letting the power of the life giving liquid fill him and mend his soul. It might have taken only a few seconds, but for Sebastian it felt eternal and he wanted it to never end, because he felt at home while he was in this state. Yet he eventually opened his eyes and powerfully kicked his legs to the surface, hitting the cold air above as he met with Kimi's questioning gaze quite close to himself.

“You know how to dive?” Kimi asked, his eyes betraying something like respect.

“Told you my father was a fisherman.” He pushed his wet curls back, his heart thudding with newly restored strength. “He used to take me fishing sometimes. He taught me.”

Kimi nodded at that, a bit wide eyed. Then as if on an impulse, he dove under, too.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at that, thinking that Kimi was someone who probably hated falling behind others in doing or achieving something. But not long after, most probably because he couldn't see anything, Kimi hit the surface, shaking his head to rid his hair of the water.

“Why did you stay so long? You can't see anything in the dark.”

Sebastian's lips stretched into a half smile at the claim. “There is a huge serpent at the bottom. I went down to meet him.” He bragged with an air of superiority, loving the fact that Kimi wanted something only he had the privilege of having. It was funny in a cruel way to watch the other's eyes narrow down in disdain as he turned his head sharply to the side.

_ He deserves it _ , Sebastian thought, swimming again and feeling the comforting and welcoming aura of the Arank all around himself. He crossed the lake from one shore to the other, always aware of how Kimi swam close to him in natural, refined strokes. Sebastian mostly drifted, in no hurry, but Kimi was so precise, so fluid that it was the first time Sebastian had seen someone who seemed like a fish or some other animal whose natural habitat was waters.

Intrigued, he drew closer to the shore where his feet reached the bottom, his shoulders showing above the surface, he watched Kimi. Nefer, the Arank, reappeared beside him as if he wondered why Sebastian stopped.

_ “He comes here often.” _ The Arank informed him.  _ “I am glad he freed you, King.” _ It was apparent that the spirit welcomed the other youth, because he thought that Kimi had served his king by unchaining him.

“What does he feel like, Nefer?” Sebastian whispered as he watched the other swim in finesse.

_ “He loves the water. He respects it.” _ The spirit truthfully spoke.  _ “But he is too warm.” _

That piqued Sebastian's interest. “Warm? Why is that an issue?” He knew that the spirit was talking about the other's abnormal body heat.

_ “Not like any other person's heat...” _ The Arank danced around Sebastian.  _ “When he comes here, he feels like his heat will boil all my waters.” _

Sebastian's eyebrows shot up and he looked on at the swimmer in clear surprise. “Is it a malicious feeling?”

_ “No.” _ The spirit replied immediately, his answer contrary to what he expected.  _ “If I'd felt threatened, I'd already drown him.” _

Completely shocked by the spirit's admission, Sebastian turned his attention to the Arank.  _ “Why?” _

_ “Because he has a dormant power and it doesn't feel even a bit like yours.” _

Disquieted by the information, Sebastian wanted to ask more, but suddenly Kimi was before him with a concerned look in his eyes.

“You look paler than usual. Are you that cold?” He asked.

Sebastian blinked at the question and shook away his stunned expression. “It is just... yeah, a bit...” He lied, wanting to be left alone, wanting to ask the Arank more. But Kimi suddenly decided to be a gentleman and approached him, his hand outstretched as if he wanted to touch Sebastian's forehead.

Sebastian forced himself to remain where he was and let the other do what he intended to do, wondering how his touch was going to feel. And to his astonishment, Kimi's hand felt like at the temperature of any other person's. Now that he thought about it, when Kimi had dragged him to the lake, his skin had not burned him either.

“You feel quite cold.” Kimi said. “But you don't shiver anymore.”

Sebastian smiled nervously, averting his eyes and stepping aside to break the contact. “You make me walk around all day under the sun and then without letting me get a wink of sleep, you brought me here to freeze. Cut me some slack, will you?” He resisted hugging himself now that he certainly felt the effects of stopping moving.

“I did this for you.” Kimi confessed, drawing Sebastian's attention back to himself. “I could have come here alone, but I wanted you to experience this.”

Sebastian blinked owlishly at the other's admission, unable to find anything to say about it even though he had felt quite irritated and upset with him earlier.

“Is this your way of apologizing then?” Sebastian wondered loudly, surprising both Kimi and himself with his question.

The immediate, almost reflexive way in which Kimi's eyes first widened and then narrowed down before he turned his head away was quite amusing to watch, but Sebastian successfully controlled himself before he'd laugh and possibly offend him. 

Even though Kimi refused to answer, it was enough testimony of his intention for Sebastian and for the moment, he decided to not think much on it. He had a more important concern right now and Kimi's presence was deterring him.

“You should get out. There are extra clothes for you.” Kimi offered to dissipate the weird atmosphere around them, but Sebastian quickly refused.

“No, no... I want to do a few more laps.”

Kimi was looking at him now, his eyes doubtful as if asking,  _ Are you sure? _

“Because I don't know when my next opportunity to swim will come...” Sebastian tried to explain.

Kimi looked convinced and let him be, swimming away, leaving him alone with his questions. Without losing time, Sebastian dove under the water and the Arank followed him. “What is he?” Sebastian asked in his mind. “What power did you talk about?”

The Arank swam around him in uncertainty.  _ “He is human, just like you, King. But I don't know what kind of power he has. All I know is that it is dormant and he has a lot of it.” _

That did not help Sebastian at all and he did not have anyone else to ask about this.

_ “King, as long as he respects water, he is harmless.” _ The spirit assured, because he could read how troubled Sebastian was feeling.

Realizing that he was agitating the guardian with his trepidation, Sebastian tried to relax and swam, hitting the surface. He put all his power into his stroke and swam as fast as he could from shore to shore until he felt his muscles burn with the pain and the warmth. Then, he slowly turned back to the shore where Kimi had made them leave their belongings. He stopped and whispered to the spirit of the lake in salutation, thanking the guardian for letting him use his powers and swim in his lake.

_ “It was an honor, King. Please do come again and visit me.”  _ The blue spirit bowed to him in reverence and Sebastian nodded to him in return as the light that only he could see dissolved back into the waters.

Sebastian walked back to the thick foliage, the wind hitting his naked body cruelly and making him shiver violently. He found his old shirt and threw it over his head and got rid of his soaked shalvar. He put on the things that Kimi had made him carry here and just as he was drying his hair, Arnall appeared with the chains in his hands and waited for him to finish dressing. 

Sebastian wore his shoes and held his hands out to Arnall, their night watch quickly reattaching his shackles. Sebastian could hear Kimi moving behind him as his guard crouched down to lock his feet, too. Kimi was particularly loud as he got dressed, most probably to remind Sebastian that he was there and he couldn't escape.

Sebastian resisted snorting at that, thinking that he was being underestimated. Had he wanted, he could have drowned Kimi and let the Arank kill Arnall to run away with one of the horses. But he not only hated harming and killing people, but also Pierre would be left behind and that was something he'd never do. 

Pierre was one of the few who grew up with him and he was like family who had stood up to many hardships with him and for him. He could never leave him, because he knew that unless ordered to do so, Pierre would never leave him either.

When Kimi was ready, too, Sebastian turned around and gave one last glance at the beautiful lake and let Arnall help him get on their horse. 

They rode back in silence, Sebastian mulling over what the Arank had said to him. But since he couldn't ask Kimi directly, there was no way for him to learn more. He had to set this matter aside until he'd have another chance with a water spirit, though the possibility of it was quite slim.

His trembling returned full force and to distract himself, he watched the night sky. The moon had disappeared long before they had left the lake and the inky darkness had only the stars to illuminate it a bit. Sebastian guessed that there were still a few hours left before the daybreak and he'd have to spend the next day half asleep because of Kimi's impulsive need to swim with him.

He was complaining, but in fact, he was a little thankful, not that Kimi had to know about it. He got to meet the spirit of the lake, got to replenish himself and swam freely without his chains. It had been a good experience and if only Kimi would stop being a jerk about certain things, Sebastian would have claimed that the entirety of today had been planned for him to forgive and forget.

Kimi could have asked for a list of the things for the remedies, he could have let him eat whatever the servants were given at the house instead of spending money on that breakfast. He could have given him plain water instead of that fancy fruity drink that he had ordered by the jar. He could have made someone pick up their clothes instead of personally choosing them and he could have gone to the lake alone. All these would have caused less headache for Kimi, but Sebastian could never be certain.

Finally, when they reached the house, all Sebastian wanted was to lie down and sleep. He was frozen to his marrows, but he refused to use his core energy to warm himself up. He had to preserve it, because one could never guess what the future held.

He entered the room and without even waiting for Kimi or shedding his overcoat, he wrapped himself around his velvet cover and snuggled to his pillow near Pierre. The said boy stirred into wakefulness by the slight movements and the sound, and after seeing Sebastian safe and back, he went back to sleep, too.

The next day, Sebastian did not even remember when he had fallen asleep. The only thing he knew was the bright and warm fire that burned in the heart and the second velvet cover that he woke up with, spread over his frame, soft and comfortable.

TBC...

**Suvkıs** : Literally,  _ water girl _ . Mermaids in Turkic mythology.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be totally uncool and say that it would be great to hear from you in the comments even if it was just a few words and an emoji.


	6. Chapter 6

Alone in the room with Pierre, Sebastian was looking at their breakfast tray with a bleak expression, his eyes glazed and unfocused. As usual, he wasn’t eating much, worrying the teen. 

Pierre was covertly pushing the milk towards him, hoping to persuade the other to drink it with maybe a few morsels from the bread and the cheese. But when Sebastian was sleepless or tired, he ate less and less. Knowing the reason why Sebastian was like this did not help, but what his elder had told him about his talk with the Arank of the oasis was quite the news.

Both him and Sebastian had already guessed that Kimi had something fishy going on about him, but honestly, neither had any idea about what it could be. All Sebastian could think of was the fact that the other youth had a core of fire, and most probably a strong one at that, unusual enough to cause that strange body temperature of his. But in what way this related to being powerful or having a dormant power, Sebastian didn't have any idea.

People with special skills were not uncommon, nor were miracles. Pierre, for example, since as long as he could remember, was able to hear the thoughts and feelings of the animals, most specifically the horses and some other wild animals that inhibited the desert. How he could do that, why he was able to do that, he didn't know, but the skill was said to occur among his lineage in every few generations. Within Sebastian's circle of friends there were other gifted people like him, too. And even though they had never met one, Pierre knew that they weren't the only ones who had similar skills, scattered around the continent. Kimi might be one of those people, too. Maybe his skill had not presented itself fully yet. Since it had got something to do with fire, Pierre actually wanted that skill to stay dormant for as long as possible. Because, whatever that skill had to be, it probably wasn't something innocent or good if the ominous words of the Arank were considered.

Deciding to not talk more on this subject in case someone might eavesdrop, they finished their breakfast and Pierre got ready to leave the room with Sebastian.

Downstairs, there was neither Nico, nor Kimi. Instead, Arnall was waiting for them and he took the teen with him.

Left alone, Sebastian entered the kitchen area and found the handmaid Mei there. He told her that he needed one of the stoves to prepare his remedies and thankfully the needlessly irate woman went out and left him alone to his task.

Sebastian built a large fire, waiting for the flames to settle into a steady and strong burn. He brought in the large bag of herbs and roots and oils and found the dozens of small jars stashed in a corner as promised to him by Kimi.

The kitchen was spacious. There were three tables scattered around and Sebastian spread his things over the nearest one to the stove before he started with boiling and purifying some water. He realized he was going to need some paper, pen and ink to label the jars, but that could wait.

He sat down, waiting for his water to boil, and tinkered with the ingredients on the table, creating a mental order in which he was going to use them. When his water reached to a boil, he separated it into three more pots, leaving two on the stove and two on the stone counter. He put an ingredient or two into each of them and waited for them to steep or boil. They all smelled wonderful and made Sebastian smile despite himself. 

At first, every remedy would smell fine, but as the process continued, it either turned into something completely unrecognizable or deceptively nice and clear as if it was a perfume, concealing a bitter taste. Too bad, most of what he was going to concoct was going to look dark and murky with a not so good taste. It wasn't said for nothing that medicine was bitter and poison was sweet. In most cases it was true.

For a few hours, he worked in silence; boiling and steeping, crushing and imbibing and mixing things. All sorts of nice smells drifted out from the kitchen and slowly the jars were filled with golden and earthen colored liquids and pastes, all stashed on the counter in an order. He lost himself in what he was doing. He whispered powerful words to the mixes to increase their potency, his mind blissfully occupied with what he loved doing the most.

“What is it that you whisper to yourself?”

Sebastian visibly startled and turned around from his work with wide eyes. 

Kimi was standing in the entrance, head and face covered by that scarf of his, holding one of the jars in his hands and inspecting it against the backdrop of the harsh and bright midday sun.

Collecting himself, Sebastian's tense shoulders relaxed and he turned back to his work. “Put that back at where you took it from. They are in an order so that I won't forget to whom they belong.”

But as expected, Kimi did not do as Sebastian had asked and took another jar and watched how the liquid in it shimmered with the sunlight that entered from the open kitchen doors. “What language was that?” He repeated his question, putting the jars back only to take two more to tinker with them.

“Mystic words of magic and danger in ancient gibberish to enhance the power of the medicines.” Sebastian mocked and turned towards the other youth in a flourish, making a motion with his hands as if he was presenting the jars to an audience.

Kimi looked on with hardened eyes, long and unblinking, until he disturbed Sebastian enough to break his pose and return to his pots.

“Fine...Fine...” Sebastian huffed. “An old language nobody knows or speaks any longer...” He explained half lying, half telling the truth.

“If no one knows it or speaks it, how did you learn it?” Kimi derisively muttered, clearly thinking that he was being mocked or ridiculed.

“I don't know.” Sebastian shrugged. “I can speak it since I was little.” Now this was the truth. Sebastian knew that language for as long as he remembered and it had been a shock for him when he had found out that no other human could speak or understand it. In his ears, what he spoke certainly sounded like proper words and sentences, but whomever had listened to him speak it had claimed that all they could hear was unintelligible sounds that meant nothing. Just like the sound of the wind, the falling of the rain or the crashing of the waves meant nothing for human ears.

"Strange...” Kimi murmured right beside him, startling Sebastian again.

Sebastian turned towards his left and found Kimi observing the mixture boiling in a pot.

“You were mumbling like this last night, too.” Kimi added.

“I was praising the water.” Sebastian answered dismissively, cursing the other for being as silent as a mouse when he moved.

Kimi undid his turban and scooped up some of the paste with a spoon, bringing it close to his nose. “Your people worship the water, right? Just like those on your eastern border...”

“Those people have a name.” Sebastian couldn't stop himself from uttering, a bit offended by how Kimi talked about the people of Kissaara. “And that medicine is for intestine parasites. It'll give you a nice rendezvous with the restroom if you need one.” He lied.

Kimi immediately dropped the spoon back into the pot and stepped aside.

Sebastian turned the other way to hide his smirk, but Kimi was not stupid. He could see how the other's shoulders shook with concealed laughter and in all honesty, it did not anger him. In fact, he was pleased to see that Sebastian was well enough to laugh, even though it was at his expense. He leaned against the corner of the stove, now a bit away from the healer and looked on. After a while, his idleness had to have bothered Sebastian a bit, because the healer became grumpier by the second. “Have nothing better to do?”

Kimi shook his head. “It smells nice in here and it is cooler than standing under the sun.”

Sebastian shrugged. “What is so good about watching this? Or do you suspect me of making poison instead of medicine or something?” He asked with derisive mirth, but Kimi answered in all seriousness.

“You'd never do that. I know it.”

The trust that was put in him surprised Sebastian and he looked back at the calm pale green eyes of the other with his widened ones. The convinced gaze that he saw in them really affected him and he felt honored by it as a healer. “How do you know it?” He asked with a vulnerable small smile.

“Because you have no malice in your eyes.” Kimi claimed, his lips settling into a small smile of his own. “Even when you are angry with me, there is no evil in them. Also... It is hard to imagine you using these things to make poison after you touched and carried them so reverently yesterday.”

Sebastian could only look at Kimi's face, tongue tied, a warmth spreading in his chest. The other youth's words struck somewhere deep inside him and all he was able to do was avert his eyes and suppress the silly smile that threatened to spread across his face. He had always thought that Kimi was callous and irritatingly calm to the point of passive-aggressiveness, but when he wanted, he could say really nice things, too. Sebastian didn't want to admit it, but he felt touched and liked the feeling that Kimi's words evoked in him. He tried to appear as if he was busy with the boiling mixture before him, but it was hard to do so when Kimi was still watching him as if he expected Sebastian to say something. So when he turned his eyes at Kimi to thank him, the other male surprised him with a new question, suddenly curious.

“Isn't making these a waste of your time and energy when you can quickly treat people just like you did for me?”

Startled a bit by the fast pace of Kimi's idea of a conversation, Sebastian scratched the back of his neck thoughtfully, wondering what he could say without exposing too much. “This is easier than you think.” He chose to say. “Making these, labeling them, giving them to their recipients... It is a taste of normalcy for me. I like relying on these. Nature is generous and much more potent than anyone of us can ever be. Borrowing its power is easier and much more simpler than using my own.”

Kimi realized that he could relate to what Sebastian was saying about feeling normal. He wasn't sure at what cost and to what extent the other's healing ability went, but people like Sebastian were rare and he knew how isolated they felt among their peers from his own and Nico's experiences. 

Nico could understand the voice of the plants from the trees to the smallest of flowers. It was a gift given to his family which normally presented itself in females. Kimi could still remember the weird way the people had looked at Nico when he'd dared to say what he could hear. This was one of the reasons why Kimi had kept silent for as long as possible about how he could manipulate the fire and the rays of the sun, talk to the fire djinns and order around the sun maidens for them to do his bidding. Because his power was something completely elemental, vast and more dangerous than Nico's innocent one. He still wasn't sure if he was cursed or blessed by it.

“You ask a lot, but never tell about yourself.” He came back to himself with Sebastian's expectant voice. “And by the way, that paste you've been smelling... It is for malnutrition, completely harmless and as delicious as it smells.”

Kimi blinked at the pot again and this time he took the spoon and brought it to his lips. Taking a bite from the sticky and sour-sweet thing, he nodded, apparently liking the strange spicy taste. “I want a jar of this.” He scooped up some more and then licked it clean meticulously, unaware of how Sebastian's eyes widened and then averted after watching what he had done.

“What do you want to learn?” He offered, thinking that Sebastian was right in his claim even though he'd normally refuse to talk about himself.

Sebastian knew what to ask. “You love water, don't you?” His eyes were shining again, catching the light that drifted into the kitchen.

Kimi nodded, watching two sun maidens materialize and then start to giggle at the entrance. He resisted raising an eyebrow at the girls; his Arinna had always been peculiar.

“How did you learn swimming? You are maybe the finest swimmer that I've ever seen.”

Not caring about how fine he swam, Kimi shrugged. “Swimming is the easiest way of being with the water.” He thought loudly, a bit distracted by the behavior of the golden girls. Without even feeling the need to salute Kimi, the golden maidens were watching Sebastian, talking among themselves in a tone Kimi couldn't hear from where he stood. It was strange, because even though Arinna were always intrigued by the new people that Kimi had met, it had been a while since Sebastian had come here, so the girls should have already been used to his presence and ignore him just like they did to almost everyone around them other than Kimi himself and sometimes Nico.

“And... And I used to swim in Arda when I was a child.” He tried to focus his attention back on his companion, which was easy because Sebastian's eyes were full of curiosity now. “That river was the easiest option.”

“That's something if you ask me.” Sebastian smiled a little and started to fill more bottles with his new prescriptions. “Arda is deep and dangerous in the middle river basin. Then again, where were you born?”

“In the capital.” Kimi deemed the information harmless.

“So there were already canals and water cisterns in the city when you must have started learning to swim.”

Kimi nodded, taking the spoon from Sebastian to fill the bottles himself. “How many of this?” He asked.

“Five more.” Sebastian took the other pot to fill his own share. “You were, what? Seven years old when the dam was finished?”

“I guess I was eight.” Kimi screwed the corks as hard as he could. “I am twenty four.” He added.

Sebastian smiled again. “You act older. No offense...” He filled a large jar with Kimi's paste and put it aside. “I am twenty one.” He said. "And Pierre is eighteen."

“Since when have you been wandering around? You know quite a lot about anything and everything.” Kimi knew that he'd heard it as a passing comment before, but he couldn't recall. His question made Sebastian chuckle and he liked the sound of it.

“Since I was eight.”

“Young...” Kimi murmured to himself, but Sebastian caught it.

“Something tells me you were little, too, when you have entered the caravan trade.”

Kimi nodded again. "Twelve, actually… But I have been wandering around since I was ten." He sighed a bit dejectedly at the reminder, finishing his job and handing Sebastian the jars. 

Strangely enough, they both refused to talk more about the time when they had begun their travels. Kimi did not want to revisit the memories of when he had almost gone blind and Sebastian wasn't very fond of remembering those times when he had been practically kicked out of his country after his father's death. Even though both had been able to return to their homeland from time to time, their stays had never taken long. And truth be told, neither wanted to linger in their homelands for more than what their circumstances permitted. After being shunned away for so long, none of them had been able to create a deeper attachment to their lands other than for their families or friends. It felt cold to see the eyes that followed their every move with fear, awe, and blame in them. Not having to face those eyes was better and easier if they wanted to stay sane and a little bit happy.

“I need some paper and ink for labeling them.” Sebastian's voice dissipated the silent and heavy atmosphere again.

Kimi hummed and went out. Within a few minutes, he was back with what Sebastian wanted. Without asking if the healer needed help, he started tearing even rectangular pieces from the paper for Sebastian to use.

Putting everything aside, Sebastian screwed the last cork of the last jar and brought out the mixture that he was going to use to paste the paper pieces.

Sitting around the table with Kimi, they worked in a strange tandem as if they were used to doing things together. Sebastian wrote the name of the recipient of the medicine on the papers and Kimi used the grayish liquid to paste them on the jars in the order Sebastian instructed him to do. Within half an hour their work was finished.

Sebastian handed the last large jar to Kimi.

When he saw his name and instructions beautifully written on the bottle, Kimi couldn't help but smile. “I normally don't eat sweet things...” He mumbled, somehow needing to explain himself. The two Arinna at the entrance giggled again as if they knew something Kimi did not. He ignored them.

Sebastian found the needless shyness that suddenly appeared on Kimi's face as endearing. “But it is also sour and spicy...” He offered, thinking that he was getting better at making Kimi show him different expressions. “But don't eat too much at a time.” He warned.

Kimi gently cradled the jar, nodding. “I'll send the ones who can read here.” He changed the subject. "They will give these to whom they belong and explain what is written on them.”

“That would be great.” Sebastian got up and looked around the kitchen. All the used pots, spoons and other things were heaped aside creating a small hill and Sebastian grimaced at the dirty dish pile that he had created in a few hours.

“And leave those to the others. Go and have a rest.” Kimi said, taking his jar and scarf, leaving Sebastian alone in the kitchen.

That was the moment Sebastian felt how tired he really was. He was a little hungry, too, but the idea of sleeping was nicer. He went out and climbed up the stairs to Kimi's room, unaware of the sun maidens that followed him until before the door. The hard and bare floor did not matter to him as he grabbed his pillow and lay down just like that in the coolness of the well shaded room.

Again, he didn't even remember the last conscious thought he had when he was woken up by Pierre. The first thing he recognized was the smell of the food and the second one was the velvet covers that had been draped over his body, keeping him warm and cozy.

Sebastian groggily got up in the semi dark room and idly thought that this was the second time he woke up burrowed in covers that did not belong to him. “Did you put these on me?” He asked even though he could already guess the answer. Pierre shook his head and looked at him with a question in his eyes, but Sebastian did not elaborate. His mysterious caretaker was Kimi and Sebastian didn't want Pierre to know this and get upset. In fact, he wasn't so sure about what to feel about the information, either.

“Let's eat, I brought food.” Pierre set the tray of nicely smelling dishes between them and Sebastian slowly began filling his completely empty stomach.

“What time is it?”

“Around seven, I guess.” Pierre replied. “The night has fallen.”

“How was your day?” Sebastian tried to drown the thought of Kimi catching him unawares enough to put covers over him. He felt vulnerable even as he knew that there was no malice behind the action. It was just... because the one who had done this was Kimi. That was why instead of feeling disturbed by it, Sebastian couldn't place the strange warm emotion that he felt upon the knowledge.

“They have too many animals.” At least Pierre's talk was distracting. “Mostly camels, but there were some horses, too. I guess there were more than a hundred camels and twenty-five or thirty horses.

“These merchants have quite a large group. It'll be a little hard for us to get away.” He agreed.

“The animals sounded upset with frequent deaths among them. The caravan is large and rich. They told me that the bandits kill them along with the men as they attack.”

“I wonder if we should feel worried about this, since we are completely at the mercy of the others with our hands and feet bound.” Sebastian mused, his eyes sharpening in distaste. “Though an attack would help us get away in the mayhem of it, being weaponless with chains dangling from us is not the ideal circumstance for us.”

“We can only hope that when that time comes, the best opportunity presents itself, too.” Pierre sighed, playing with his food, trying not to look so dejected. “If only we have some luck and chance upon some foolish bandits to create the chaos we want.”

Sebastian sighed, too. Yeah, they needed a lot of luck. But they were in a desert and everything about doing trade or traveling in a desert was unpredictable. Sebastian just hoped that they'd be able to use that unpredictability to their advantage.

They ate the rest of their meal in silence and then Sebastian started a fire in the heart to steep tea. As the room got darker in contrast of the light from the fire, they continued talking.

“It is interesting how they give the same meal they eat to the slaves and other servants.”

“These people are quite rich, Pierre. All the weapons on their belts have precious gemstones embedded on them. Their workers wear nice garments, they eat and drink well as it seems, though I can't say the same for some of the slaves.”

Pierre pointed to the heap of clothes that Kimi had bought for them. “Those things are not what slaves would wear. But Kimi is a peculiar one, he must have bought what he'd choose to wear himself.”

Sebastian shrugged. “It is not his money that he spends, so I don't think he cares much.”

“The Bey is really something, too. He seems meek and he smiles a lot.” Pierre had an uncomprehending look on his face. "One would think that he'd be harsher and much more distant. But he really acts like a kind person.”

“Was he there in the stables today?”

“Yes, he came and talked to me, telling me that the animals should be ready in a few days. I guess the transaction that you've told me about is close.”

Sebastian hummed over his tea cup thoughtfully. “That man is a mystery to me. He has a silent hold over everyone around us. Not the aggressive kind, but he is as dangerous as any of them could be. He is too perfect to be real.”

Pierre nodded in agreement and their hushed conversation went silent again. Sebastian urged him to go to bed early since this was the first real day that the teen had spent outside and he needed to rest as much as possible. When he fell asleep, Sebastian was still awake and sitting by the heart, feeding it with small coal pieces. The flames were the only source of light in the room and the warmth they provided seeped to Sebastian's core, calling him back to sleep.

With heavy eyes Sebastian watched the flames dance and thought about where Kimi was. It was quite late into the night now and for any ordinary man out there the best place to be was somewhere safe where one could have a rest or sleep. But Kimi was someone far from one could describe as ordinary. Truth be told, Sebastian wouldn't be surprised to find out that Kimi chose to spend the night at the lake again. Not feeling the cold of the night or the water had to be a wonderful thing, but Sebastian could not imagine how Kimi bore with the midday sun when the desert heat would be at its apex. It had to be like a torture, coupled with the other's body heat. Sebastian wished that he could understand more about how Kimi's body heat worked, but he had little to no idea about something as extraordinary as this. It was no wonder that he was at a loss of what to do with the meager information that the Arank of the oasis had given to him. He just hoped that they'd be as far away as possible from these people before they'd have to find out the truth behind the words of the Arank about Kimi. And like that, sitting beside the fire, thinking about the other youth, Sebastian fell asleep.

He wasn't expecting Kimi to be the first thing he'd see when he woke up upon the call of his name. He startled a bit, and then cringed in pain at his stiff neck and hurting back.

“You must have fallen asleep like this. You should lay down properly.” Kimi whispered and Sebastian nodded at him groggily, getting up and turning towards where Pierre and he slept in the corner of the room, half blind and half asleep. But after he took a few steps, his feet tangled to the edge of the cover that was falling off of his shoulders and he tripped on it, about to free fall onto the hard floor of the room.

All traces of sleep erased in an instant, heart lurching up to his throat, Sebastian tried to right himself in vain and latched on to the first thing within reach, Kimi. The next thing he knew was that he was in the firm embrace of the other youth, his chained hands sliding over the damp, naked flesh of the other's chest and his face in the crook of his neck.

Blinking at his current predicament blankly and in surprise, he came to himself with Kimi's voice and hot breath that washed over his cheek and neck in an intimate way that made him shiver.

“Steady, Sebastian. It's alright.” Kimi's voice was so low and kind in an understanding sort of way that it was as if he was talking to a small child that he found endearing or to a loved one. 

Sebastian jerked back, his heart wildly beating at his ribcage, his face reddening despite himself. He immediately withdrew his hands, fumbling, not knowing where to put them as they were trapped between their bodies. When his eyes met with Kimi's green ones, they were regarding him softly with a question in them as if asking if he was alright. Sebastian tried to desperately step back to create some much needed room between them, but in his clumsy haste he stepped yet again on the edge of the cover that was still dangling from his frame. Kimi steadied him by holding him from his biceps, his touch creating goosebumps all over his naked arms, because Kimi's hands were cool as if he had just washed them.

Within a few seconds, Sebastian's mind jumped among many questions as he tried to avert his eyes from Kimi's only to land them on his naked chest -why the hell was this guy always half naked? And why seeing him like this bothered him? Why did Kimi look normal and calm when Sebastian's heart was trying to break its cage? And why was Kimi covering him with his own comforters whenever he'd find Sebastian asleep?

“I put this on you when I came in.” Kimi whispered, yet again halting Sebastian's thoughts. “Sorry that it became a hindrance.” And his hands glided over Sebastian's arms, tensing the younger man's shoulders, making him forget to breathe as he gently pulled the cover over Sebastian, wrapping him with it and making sure that he wouldn't trip over it again.

Sebastian held onto the edges of the cloth that Kimi let go and felt that he had to say something, had to do something to get himself out of the stupid trance that he was in, so he quickly looked away and murmured a reluctant  _ thanks _ to the unsuspecting youth and rushed towards his side to get away from Kimi. 

To his relief, the other let him go without a fuss and murmured back a  _ good night _ , but in his troubled state of mind, Sebastian did not even hear him. He turned his back to where Kimi was and burrowed under the other comforter, practically hiding. He listened to his own heart beat as it refused to settle for a while and hugged his arms, soothing the goose flesh with his hands to erase the memory of Kimi's touch.

It was strange. Not only the other's body temperature was normal again just like yesterday, but also being touched by him in that way as if they were friends, as if everything was alright about the situation that they had been in was a strange feeling. Sebastian hated Kimi for all the while looking completely harmless, calm and innocent as if what he had done was how it usually went between them. And he hated himself for his own reaction, lost and panicked and unable to decide what to do with himself like a child facing something new.

He willed himself to relax, tried to think nothing of this. Apparently, Kimi hadn't been acting out of his way. He had seemed quite nonchalant even when he had spoken so intimately close to him or held him like that, as if liberally touching Sebastian, dare he say caressing his arms, was something ordinary and usual. If Kimi had acted like nothing was amiss, then it had to be like that and Sebastian shouldn't dig for some deeper meaning or reason. 

Kimi had simply helped Sebastian out of his kindness for a slave and saved him from a painful fall to the floor. That was all there was to it. Clearly Kimi was trying to amend for his earlier behaviors by acting considerate in these subtle ways. Sebastian thought that it was a nice sentiment, but he didn't know what to do with it. An indifferent, blunt Kimi was simpler to deal with than a Kimi who tried to do nice things for him, who looked at him and talked to him as if Sebastian was not a slave and he himself was not a free man who had the power to practically order Sebastian around.

Sebastian tried to suppress his sigh and go to sleep, but his body refused him. So he lay there, his mind racing and painfully aware that Kimi was awake, too. Even though the other did not move much, Sebastian could tell from his breathing pattern. He wondered what Kimi's thoughts were occupied with to keep him awake and if Kimi would go swimming again. The idea of water and focusing on it relaxed him a bit and eventually he fell into a fitful slumber when there were a few hours left to the dawn.

* * *

For Sebastian, the next day was not as busy as yesterday. He went to the animal keeps of the caravan with Pierre after they got their breakfast. Thankfully, Kimi hadn't been around and even though Pierre had asked him why he looked sleepless and upset yet again, Sebastian had just complained about working hard the day before. Of course, he was aware that he couldn't fool Pierre, but he really didn't want to talk about it.

As Pierre took care of the camels, he was given the task of grooming the horses. Horses were his favorite and the animals seemed to like him back because they simply stood there obediently as Sebastian combed and brushed their hide and tails, checking them for any possible illnesses. In fact, Pierre was telling him which animal needed what kind of care as he went through his own inspection, finding quite a few camels and a couple of horses needing medical attention.

Sebastian liked listening to Pierre's one sided conversation with the animals. It seemed one sided, but he knew that his friend heard and felt what they needed and felt. They were lucky that whomever might hear the boy would probably think nothing of it.

The stables and the open areas where the camels were kept were busy places. Pierre had five helpers and they listened to his words dutifully. It seemed that the teen had already earned their respect because whatever Pierre told them to do was done as soon as possible.

Being among this many animals was both nice and quite smelly, but Sebastian and Pierre were used to it. Through the four years that they traveled together, they looked after both people and animals; not because they had to, but because they were able to. 

One could not believe that someone like Sebastian would not be bothered by sleeping in a stable with horses or liked helping the births of many foals, lambs and calves. At least, among the people and the animals that needed him, he could forget why he wasn't very welcome in his own lands. At least, when people did not know his full name and the things that entailed to it, they acted themselves. This was what Sebastian wanted, but if only he was not enslaved. If only he was free, all would feel right with the world. Yet he had to endure his shackles until an opportunity presented itself.

The whole day, they took care of the animals and Sebastian helped Pierre in easing the ailments of several of them. By now, Pierre mostly knew what to do after Sebastian confirmed whatever illness bothered the animals, so the teen was capable enough to treat the sick among them.

They ate their dinner and a stable boy steeped them some tea. They watched the moon rise in the inky sky and waited for somebody to come and take them back to the storehouse. But when that someone, Arnall, came, the burly man threw them a bundle of clothes from Kimi's earlier purchase and demanded them to follow him.

Where they were taken was the place that they were least expecting. It was a bath house and Sebastian couldn't decide if he should sigh in relief for finally being able to wash themselves or frown in insulted silence that this happened right after they had spent the entire day among smelly animals. Nevertheless, they silently followed the tall man into the pale granite building and found themselves in a room full of naked or half naked men, getting ready to enter the baths or to leave. 

Sebastian recognized a few of Nico's men among the faces of the strangers, a few even saluting them. Well, it was nice to know that this whole business was not something arranged exclusively for them. But that didn't stop them from dejectedly looking around as they searched for a spot to wait for some privacy to get ready.

As if he read their minds, Arnall patiently waited together with them and did not undress until at least half of the men either left the building or went inside to the pools and the bathing sections.

“Don't idle anymore.” Arnall approached them, procuring a set of small keys and unlocking their chains. “Get undressed and don't forget where you put your clothes.” He told them and honestly, Sebastian didn't want to join the rest of the other guys who enjoyed the hot water back there. He was a rather private person when it came to sharing baths and such, but he knew he either had to get rid of the grime and the dust that bothered him or wait for the others to finish their job, most probably chained down to one of the posts embedded into the stone here in the changing room. He'd hate that.

Now that their hands and feet were free, getting undressed was easy. And thankfully, Arnall was thoughtful enough to give them long and thin pieces of cloth that they could cover themselves with. The tall man also gave them fluffy washcloths and a large bar of not so good smelling soap. He nodded for them to go in after giving the keys and shackles to another man to keep an eye on them.

Sebastian sighed and entered the coolest part of the bath house where there was a pool filled with warm water and several chairs were surrounding it, occupied by people who were either trying to adjust to the heat or having a breather from the hotter inner rooms. He felt a bit surprised when he saw Nico and Kimi in the pool, talking in hushed tones as they calmly let the water drift them. The two paid them no attention and Arnall led them further in. 

He got them into one of the less crowded rooms, a square one with a large shallow pool in the middle of it. There were sitting areas on all edges, divided by short marble walls with a basin and a faucet in every one of them. People were washing each other using them and Arnall chose a relatively secluded one.

The secluded partition was quite alright with Sebastian because ever since they'd entered the bathing areas, he'd felt the eyes of other people on them even though they didn't even know who these people were. There were a few of Nico's men scattered around, but those people didn't even bat an eye at their presence. What was this uncalled for interest in their little group, Sebastian really didn't want to find out even though he was disturbed by it.

They sat down on either side of the marble basin and observed the people around them. He shared a look with Pierre, and Sebastian was convinced that he wasn't the only one who thought that they were inspected as if Sebastian and Pierre were from another species. It was quite an unsettling and vulnerable feeling and he loathed it.

“I already hate this place.” He murmured for Pierre's ears and the teen nodded at him.

“They all looked at you as if they knew you or something.” Pierre pointed out and that perked Sebastian's attention.

“At me or at us?” His tone was a bit chastising and Pierre looked uncomprehending as he confirmed.

“They were all looking at you, Seb.”

Sebastian thought back and, yes… Pierre was right, the eyes had been mostly on him and this new revelation disturbed him more. His face immediately turned sharper, showing his discomfort. “Let's get clean quickly and get out of here.”

Nodding, Pierre turned on the tap and filled the basin.

Elsewhere in the cooling room, Nico was watching Kimi do short and quite possibly dissatisfying laps in the pool. He was sitting on a wooden chair, quite comfortable, and drinking sherbet as he waited for his friend to get his fill and hopefully get out of the pool before he turned into a fish. He could understand that Kimi was depressed over the fact that they were about to cross half of the desert for their next destination, but tonight was the third consecutive night Kimi had spent his time in the water. He knew that his friend had brought Sebastian to the oasis two days ago and tonight he had used the excuse of Sebastian and Pierre needing a good bathing to come here and soak more.

Nico didn't mind being dragged to the oasis or the bath house every few days, because he loved water, too. But he still didn't understand why Kimi had taken Sebastian to the lake that night. Normally, when he was in the water, Kimi wouldn't be interested in anything else or wouldn't pay attention to other things. He certainly didn't need the companionship of anyone around when he was in water. Nico only accompanied him, because he had to be sure of Kimi's safety. So why had he taken Sebastian? When asked, Kimi had mumbled something like Sebastian loved water, too, but who in a desert didn't like water?

Raising his eyebrows in annoyance at his spiraling thoughts, Nico sipped his drink and listened in on the conversation of the few men around them. It seemed like a couple of men who had just come from the inner rooms were talking about women. Not that he actively tried to eavesdrop, but Nico could hear some distasteful remarks and he rolled his eyes.

“How can somebody stay so unblemished in a desert, man?” One of them was asking. “That skin looked so soft and supple, begging to be touched.”

The other man leered at his friend's description. “Yeah, I saw that, right? No scars, no marks, no nothing... That has to feel quite nice to the touch.”

The first man nodded at that, caressing his beard. “I am sure  _ it _ is someone's toy here. He must be flaunting  _ it _ around for everyone to see.”

Now, that caught Nico's attention.  _ It _ ? People only talked about slaves as  _ it _ . And that slave had to be here. It rang some alarm bells in his mind, but he tried to disregard them.

“That curling hair and those baby blue eyes... I say  _ it _ must have cost a lot. I'd flaunt  _ it _ like that, too,  _ it _ is as beautiful as a maiden!”

_ Shit... _ Nico thought, straightening up and trying to decide what to do, because it was quite evident that they were talking about Sebastian.

“Walking around with a bodyguard does not guarantee the safety of that fine ass, though.” The two men started to laugh and as soon as their voices boomed in the near emptiness of the room, Nico saw Kimi getting out of the pool with an intense and hard expression he had rarely seen on his friend's face. He sprang into action, halting Kimi from approaching the two men.

“What do you think you are doing?” He asked in a hushed tone and met with his friend's silent anger that clouded his eyes. But thankfully that question was enough to stop Kimi's bizarre behavior even as the two men went on talking and insulting Sebastian.

“Arnall is with them and our men are all around. They won't let anything happen.” Nico felt the need to reassure Kimi even though he still couldn't believe that he'd seen his friend become livid for someone else's sake.

Luckily, the two lecherous men got up and left the room to get dressed and Kimi seemed to return to his usual self. But he headed to the inner rooms even though Nico knew that he hated the hot and humid air in them.

After a bit of searching, they found Sebastian and Pierre about to finish their bathing. Kimi sat down and immediately whoever was there from their men came closer and sat near him. 

Nico did the same, thinking that everything was alright now. But when he looked at the slaves, it was evident that they didn't feel comfortable and were in a hurry. Especially Sebastian seemed to be on edge, his eyes darting around as if any moment he expected something bad to happen.

This went on for a little while and Sebastian told something to Arnall who nodded at him in return and readied himself to get up and leave the room. They took their few belongings and washed the spot that they used just as a group of people approached the very same place. While the slaves took a few steps towards the exit, a sharp sound of flesh hitting flesh was heard and a young man fell onto the slippery floor, an older man bellowing over the fallen one.

“How can you expect me to take my bath here after those filthy slaves dirtied it all over!”

Many things happened simultaneously before Nico's eyes. The fallen young man started to apologize, Sebastian's shoulders tensed and he stopped, causing Pierre and Arnall to halt, too. 

The old man who was bellowing at his servants turned and pointed an accusing finger at Pierre and Sebastian and shouted again, making everyone in the vicinity stop and watch the charade.

“Those dirty things must have so many illnesses! Do you want me to catch something from those boy toys? Huh?” A sharp kick to the man on the floor and the servant continued to apologize. But what took Nico's breath away was the murderous rage on Sebastian's face as the younger man turned around at the insult, ready to rip the accuser's head with his bare hands, but Arnall halted him by holding on his bicep and Pierre covered his path as if to stop him from getting closer, but Nico knew better. Pierre was guarding his elder, his stance more than ready to attack if it required him to.

Besides him, Kimi was tense, too, and Nico wondered who was going to snap first. Their men got up from their seats and slowly approached the trio. But their number did not even intimidate the old man who took the other people's intervention as an insult.

“Who is your master?” He spat. “Filthy slaves like you can never effort the entrance fee here.” Then he leered knowingly. “Unless you are bitches to some bloody merchant, pretty boys.”

In all honesty, Nico had expected Sebastian or Pierre to attack the man. If it were him, he would have done so. But suddenly, maybe for a single second, Sebastian's eyes shifted beyond where the old man stood, as if towards the taps over the basins which were all turned on. Nico wasn't so sure of it, but in that instant, it seemed like Sebastian's lips moved as if he murmured something under his breath and then just as quickly, his eyes refocused back to the old man, a dead, chilling look in them. His face cold and expressionless, Sebastian turned around and started walking away with Pierre and Arnall in tow as if he was the leader and the others were his retainers.

Distracted by them, when Nico's gaze returned back to the ignored and fuming man, he realized that the water flow from the taps were not normal and before he could even point that out, one of the taps gushed like a geyser and water flowed in abandon, sweeping away pieces of soap and washcloths towards where the old man was standing. And in the blink of an eye, the old man and one of his servants lost their balance because of the sudden rush of slippery and soapy water and fell down onto the hard marble floor with an animalistic scream of fear and pain coming from the rude man.

Nico watched it all with wide eyes as panicking servants tried to help their master and fellow servant up. Surprisingly, the water flow from the malfunctioning tap returned to normal and Nico realized that no one else seemed to notice the oddity of the strangely timed event other than him. Everyone else watched the situation with either displeasure or enjoyment written on their faces, the strangers quickly losing interest with only Kimi’s men remaining alert. Speaking of which, when Nico turned towards his friend he was yet again taken aback by the pleased look on his friend’s face as if Kimi was grateful that a tap and some foamy water had done the job instead of him.

“He deserved that...” Kimi coldly spoke. There was a cruel and aggressive glint in his green eyes as he got up and stalked towards the swearing, angry man who was trying to wipe the blood from his head where he had to have hit it when he fell.

The old man looked up, distracted by Kimi and the men taking their guard behind him and when he saw the other’s eyes, he halted in his incessant shouting.

“Those people you have just insulted belong to me.” His voice was as calm as it was just any other day, but his authoritarian appearance was chilling and disturbing. “If you talk about this anymore any longer you might not be able to talk again at all.” Listening to him, one would have thought that Kimi was talking about the weather instead of making threats about cutting tongues and such. But the look of cold and detached lethality that he assumed awed and surprised even his own men, though none of them was able to see his face completely from where they stood. “I hope I was clear enough.” Kimi finished darkly and the wounded man stupidly blinked, nodding his agreement. He turned around and the fuss over the wounded man began anew as his servants tried to stop the bleeding and get him up from the floor. But the old man was in a trance, silently murmuring to himself. “His eyes glowed... his eyes were golden...”

Leaving the commotion behind, Nico followed after Kimi, but Kimi stopped him from coming further by reminding him that Sebastian and Pierre thought that he was the master and a master surely did not meddle with petty things such as what had just happened.

Nico shrugged, not liking this a bit, but he desisted from commenting about it for now. He returned to the cooling room and found his spot back, sipping on his drink as he mulled over the things he had seen today.

In the changing room, Sebastian, Pierre, and Arnall were all silent. Everyone was rubbing themselves dry, but Sebastian seemed quite distracted. Pierre was watching him with concerned eyes as his elder began getting dressed with the new clothes, in apparent hurry as if he just wanted to escape from the bath house. Pierre didn’t dawdle, either. He got dressed, too, and Arnall brought their chains back and reattached them.

Kimi entered just then, finding a towel, and told Arnall that he could continue with his bath. Arnall gave the small keys to Kimi and then left. He started getting dressed, too, observing the palpable need of getting out of here that was evident on Sebastian’s face. The other youth was getting tenser and tenser as people came in and went out of the changing room, so Kimi got ready as quickly as he could to spare him from the torment.

When Kimi told them that they were leaving, Pierre immediately realized that somebody was following them, trying to be discreet about it, but failing. Were they concerned about what he and Sebastian could do with the pent up ire from the bath house? It was ridiculous.

The night was chilly and they burrowed deeper in their coats even though they couldn’t wear them properly because of their chains. Sebastian looked paler than usual and Pierre knew that his elder felt insulted on a personal level even though that man had made those accusations and insults at the both of them. But they had been among too many people and Sebastian and Pierre had to stay put at the old man’s words. More than that, Sebastian had lost his cool and ordered the Arank of the oasis to do that thing with the taps. Pierre was sure that currently, Sebastian was also angry with himself for resorting to such an act. 

He doubted that anyone actually had figured out or suspected anything, but it had been a too perfect coincidence. Surely just as they were aware that Kimi had some sort of power, the others had to be on the alert that Sebastian had something going on, too. It was just a matter of realizing that Sebastian was more than a healer with a gift. He was something much more unimaginable and while enslaved by the people of their unfriendly and merciless neighbor country, Sebastian had to be extra careful to not jeopardize his real identity.

The tight silence of the group became disturbing as they walked back, but no one seemed to want to say anything at all, so Pierre did not speak either and hoped that nobody among Nico’s men would dare to talk about tonight in the future. It had been humiliating enough to endure, he really didn’t want his elder to be subjected to the gossip and taunts of others. He didn’t know if he could handle it or try to break a few bones if anyone dared to hurt Sebastian more.

Finally, they reached the storehouse. After taking them upstairs and kindling a fire in the heart effortlessly, Kimi took a few rolls of paper from his locked chest and went downstairs, letting them be.

Sebastian sat down before the fire and Pierre, for not having a better thing to do, started to arrange their sleeping corner, trying to make it more comfortable for Sebastian. He wasn’t sure if he should speak or stay silent, so he did his job and took the kettle off the heart. He filled it with water and set it above the fire, sitting down in front of it to get warm. Their silence continued as the small amount of water boiled and Pierre steeped tea for two, hoping to calm Sebastian down with the beverage.

The sharp aroma and the nice smell of the tea seemed to help a bit as Sebastian’s expression slowly changed from unfocused coldness to forlorn regret. Pierre was right, Sebastian was regretting pulling that stunt in the bath house.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Sebastian whispered, leaning against the wall of the fireplace. Pierre nodded in understanding. He hadn’t been expecting even this much of an explanation. “Because what I did was stupid.” Sebastian continued nevertheless.

For a moment, Pierre kept his silence, but then he decided against it. “But the look on that old fart's face was priceless.” He tried to mimic the angry and shocked face of the old man and then he grinned.

Maybe this was what Sebastian needed to hear, because soon his shoulders relaxed and he smiled at Pierre loop sidedly, too. “Yeah, it really was.” He agreed and drank his tea.

After that, none of them said anything other than wishing goodnight to each other.

* * *

The next day was unnaturally silent and ordinary. Sebastian saw less men from the people of the caravan than he’d been seeing since the day they had been bought. And the men they saw spoke even less than before.

It was irritating, the way the people averted their eyes from him and Pierre as if everyone knew about what happened in the bath house and yet did a poor job of ignorance. To Sebastian, it felt like the men agreed with the sentiment of that asshole in the bath house; that the two of them might be actually serving for that purpose.

That was absurd, because everyone knew that Sebastian was a healer who had even prepared medicine for them and Pierre was a stable boy who miraculously knew what the animals needed the most. 

It pained him. He didn’t show it, hid it for Pierre’s sake, but being labeled like this, even as a doubtful gossip material, hurt and angered Sebastian to such an extent that he wanted to hurt someone, preferably that old man from last night. But he could guess where the doubt and avoidance took roots from. 

By now, everyone had to be aware that Sebastian had been bought for a ridiculous amount of gold. It was clear on what kind of slaves that sum of money was spent. The number of people that he had attracted the attention of in the slave market was no coincidence. He had been told numerous times that he was pleasing to the eye. 

Thinking about it now, it was impossible to not realize the intention of the other bidders, thus Sebastian was grudgingly grateful that Nico was a normal person, not a pervert with some money to spend. The wrong thing in this equation was the fact that ever since they’d come here, they’d been in Kimi’s room. And thus, in the minds of the other men and slaves, they could have been doing anything and everything since then.

Sebastian gritted his teeth, not even hearing the gnashing sound that they made. He didn’t know what kind of a position Kimi held among the men, but apparently it was high, because everyone listened to his words and he had such a fine room in the storehouse. Pierre had said that one of the horses also belonged to him and it was maybe the best one among the animals. Was this counted as being privileged or standing on the equal grounds with the Bey, Sebastian didn’t know. But Kimi was at least the second in command or the Bey’s business partner. So it had to be normal for him to have a few slaves around, attending to his needs. And under these circumstances those slaves were them, Pierre and Sebastian.

There was only one thing to do now and Sebastian was regretting not doing it earlier. Even though the damage was done, they needed to have their own sleeping arrangements, preferably together with the servants of the house for the time being. 

In his eyes, continuing to stay with Kimi even after last night was as good as accepting the claims of that man. This had to be done and surely Kimi would think of this as good riddance, reclaiming his earlier privacy once Sebastian and Pierre would be gone. But he didn’t want to have this talk with the other when Pierre was in the vicinity. 

Pierre hadn’t seen the way Kimi had acted after their night in the oasis. Sebastian himself was still unwilling to think deeper about it, he certainly didn’t want the teen to witness it if Kimi would decide to act like a  _ gentleman _ again. So, he waited until he’d find some alone time with Kimi to speak about it.

The opportunity presented itself two days later. In the meantime, Sebastian helped Pierre to treat the ill animals and he saw Kimi only at night before they all went to sleep. The more they sidestepped the issue and beat around the bush, the more irritated Sebastian became as everyone, including Kimi, acted like nothing happened and thus made the situation all the more glaringly obvious and painful.

In the evening of the second day, Kimi came to the stables and told Sebastian that they needed to visit the inn to see a man who was wounded during a brawl the day before in a tavern.

Kimi looked quite tense and displeased, not even looking at Sebastian once on their way to the inn. It was as if he really didn’t want to go there or take Sebastian with him. Sebastian couldn’t fathom the reason and he didn’t ask. He just followed the other youth and someone took them to the wounded man’s room when they arrived.

The man was young, late twenties or early thirties, and he was in pretty bad shape. Sebastian could see that he had lost a considerable amount of blood and upon getting closer and touching him, he sensed that the wound was about to get infected. It was a stab wound, right under the rib cage of the right side, puncturing the liver. It was around three centimeters in width and six to seven centimeters in depth. The man had laboring breath and sweating a lot even though his skin was cold.

“How many days will it take to heal him completely?” Kimi asked, crouching besides the unconscious man.

Sebastian didn’t want to interfere with the natural healing process of the tissues, though he planned to immediately fight the infection before it would spread deep into the wound. “I guess I’ll have to see him three times.” He uttered a moderate time frame. But Kimi shook his head.

“No, you are here only for today. Do the minimum you’d do. You won’t come here to heal him completely. He’ll take care of himself.” Kimi told him with hardened eyes. “He needs to learn a lesson for what he has done.”

Sebastian raised his eyebrows at that, now understanding why Kimi had been so reluctant to come here. Most probably, this man had done something bad to earn this wound and Kimi was angry at him for it.

Nevertheless, he hadn’t meant to heal the man completely, either. It was already frustrating enough to find out that Kimi had an idea of the extent of his healing ability. If Sebastian wanted, he could cure the man within a few minutes, but that would drain him when he might not get another chance to swim in the oasis to quickly replenish himself. Otherwise, it would take days of fine eating and sleeping to refill his energy and that was currently impossible.

Under normal circumstances, Sebastian wouldn’t care at all about how his own body would heal after the treatment of a deep wound like this. He had been healing people using his core energy until the last bit of it since he had begun traveling. He’d simply find a nice place to stay and rest until he’d feel ready to go again. But here, about to depart for the Desert, bound and enslaved, Sebastian was reluctant to use even a tiny bit of his energy, in case he might need it whilst they’d try to escape. Nature’s gifts would be more than enough after he would tinker with the core of his patient and lead the life flow to the wound to speed up the healing process. And he did exactly that. But it would have been better if he'd be able to see this patient once more.

He cleaned himself with boiled water and alcohol and then he disinfected the wound. He mended the puncture in the liver as he sutured the entrance wound and stopped the sluggish bleeding. The infection traces were destroyed and the only thing that was left was the blood loss and the mending of the wound tissue. Sebastian guessed that the man would feel alright after four or five days.

As he worked, the unconscious man never woke up, but his trembling and sweating subsided before he settled into a deep slumber. 

The occupants of the room did not speak, either, silently watching Sebastian and obeying whatever demand he’d made as he worked. 

Kimi sat down with hushed indifference in the corner of the room, but Sebastian knew better. The other was watching him like a hawk, displeasure rolling off of him like a wave. Sebastian wondered if he acted like this knowingly or not, because his mood was affecting the other men around and tensing them up, too.

When he finished, Sebastian got up and started to explain a man what they should do in the following days and what the wounded man needed to eat and drink; but Kimi cut him off sharply, clearly frightening the others around. “We are leaving.”

“But I must explain what they need to do if you want this man on his feet within a week.”

Kimi looked frighteningly dark and sinister when he turned around from his way out. “No, I don’t care about this man anymore. He is no longer a part of this caravan. Tell him that he is free to go anywhere he wants.”

Sebastian watched in bewildered silence as the men all nodded and half bowed to Kimi, uttering fervently at him. "Yes, Bey. As you wish, Bey."

“Now, come here.” Kimi ordered him again and for a very impulsive moment, Sebastian felt an urge to deny his demand. He was not worried about the patient. He knew that the man would be alright. It was just that some vengeful part of him wanted to see where the ensuing argument would lead to. But he decided against it and followed the irate man out, dragging his feet.

It was night time now. The stars were blossoming up above in the darkened skies. The inn was getting ready for the dinner time and in that commotion Sebastian saw two men from the city patrol going upstairs towards the room that they’d just left. Someone, mostly probably Kimi, had to have reported him to the authorities.

“Will you tell me what the hell just went down in that room?” Sebastian questioned. He was miffed for being used as a rag doll that could be dragged to wherever Kimi pleased without even a bit of explanation. “You prevented a fast recovery for that man with the stunt you pulled back there.”

“As if!” Kimi spat. “I know he's already been healed half way by you. I know the power of your touch.”

Sebastian gritted his teeth. “That man, regardless of whatever he might have done, had to be healed. I am a healer. I cure people, not leave them half dead!”

The half smile on Kimi’s face when he turned towards Sebastian was blood chilling. “Even when that man had kidnapped and forced himself upon a woman a few days ago?” He hissed.

Sebastian was shocked to stillness for a second, but he quickly recovered himself, his blue eyes glinting sharply with the street lights. “Yes, even then. I’d cure that man so that he could rot in a cell, knowing that he is the scum of this society for as long as he lives. Not leave him half dead and possibly giving him an easy death and a way out.”

Kimi stopped at Sebastian’s outburst and his steely eyes scrutinized him long and hard as if searching for a lie there. Slowly, his already hard expression turned sour and disappointed. “That kind of chivalric romanticism is the line between who dies and who survives in a desert.” He reminded cruelly. “See where that has brought you to.” He nodded at Sebastian’s chained hands and turned to his way again, walking away.

Hearing that twisted Sebastian’s insides ice cold. If he knew that they had been alone and not followed by Arnall from a distance, he would have kicked Kimi. He really would... Sebastian couldn’t believe how callous this guy was. Were there two of this guy and Sebastian wasn’t aware? Why was Kimi kind and gentle one day and then would turn into a bullheaded fool the other day, Sebastian didn’t know.

“Sorry for not being a pragmatic and vicious merchant like you, Kimi  _ Bey _ .” He snarled and without even caring if it irked the other or not, he began a deliberately slow walk.

It seemed Kimi chose to ignore the comment, but even if he didn’t like the way Sebastian tried to stall them, he said nothing and adopted his pace to Sebastian’s.

For a few minutes, seeing that he couldn’t rile the other up into a proper answer, Sebastian decided that he needed to talk about his real problem. Under these circumstances when the both of them were angry for different reasons, this wasn't probably a good idea, but enough was enough. “Pierre and I don’t want to stay in that room.”

Kimi turned his head and looked at him, apparently not understanding where this came from and how come Sebastian would refuse to stay in a room with its own bath and toilet in it. “Why, what is the reason?”

Sebastian kept himself from sighing. "We want to be located to where other servants’ quarters are.” He said, trying to be reasonable, but the answer was immediate and sharp.

“No, you are staying where you are until we leave.” Kimi’s voice left no room for argument, but Sebastian refused to bend.

“Why? We both are chained, hands and feet unlike any other servant or slave of the Bey. We don’t demand to be alone, we want to live where the others live. That’s all.”

“You are staying in that room, Sebastian.” Kimi did not even feel inclined to elaborate why.

“Are we given to you?” Sebastian asked, his voice had a tight edge, as if he felt physically ill for having uttered it.

That strange tone made Kimi look at him. “What?” He acted as if he didn’t understand what Sebastian was asking.

“Are we given to you? Were we bought for you, like a... Like a gift or something?” Sebastian cursed under his breath for being forced to say it like this. But Kimi’s eyes sharpened at his words.

“No.” He refuted simply. “You belong to the Bey.”

Sebastian snorted at that derisively. “And pray tell, who is the Bey? And no, don’t give me those eyes, pretending you are just an innocent bystander in all these.”

At that, Kimi looked at him for a moment as if he had been talking to an ignorant kid and then just walked away. “I don’t know what you are talking about. Keep walking.”

This dismissive attitude, this indifference as if what Sebastian was saying was none of Kimi’s business was enough to make Sebastian mad with frustration. But dealing with this kind of people has never been easy. If someone wanted to act like a stubborn asshole who simultaneously managed to look nonchalant and aloof, then the best approach was to act the same.

“I am not sleeping in that room.” He declared. He saw how Kimi’s shoulders tensed at that, but he didn’t care. If he really didn’t belong to the other youth, then there was no need to give the otherwise impression to the people around. He could be everything, but he had his honor and he refused to be considered as someone’s pleasure toy.

That night, after he and Pierre ate their dinner, they both went downstairs. Giving back their tray, it was easy to find where the other servants slept. Their room was big, beds lining the one part of the floor while the other part occupied a heart and a table with enough chairs for the two male workers, three guardians and a stable boy. Mei, the sole female of the store house, either slept elsewhere or had her own house nearby.

Pierre threw his bedding onto the nearest empty space and they looked around for a spare bed among the heaps of clothes, but there was none. They sat down on Pierre’s bed and waited till someone from the servants came into the room. As soon as he entered, the burly man’s face soured. “You are not sleeping here.” He rudely motioned them to get up and get out as if he was dealing with a pest.

“Yes, we will.” Sebastian challenged, looking directly into the man’s eyes, showing him that he wasn’t frightened by his size.

“You either leave here or you are in for a good fight. Wanna learn what we do to the losers?”

“Oh, you mean what will happen to you when you lose?” Sebastian knew that he was going too far, because the man was quite muscly and apparently itching for some action. Bound like this, weaponless, Sebastian had little to no chance as another servant entered just then as if something had called him.

Cursing his luck, Sebastian tsked, not wanting to spend his energy on brutes like these. He got up. “Give us another set of bedding then.” He demanded and to his way a thin bed was kicked. Sebastian took it without making a fuss. It would be petty to fall to these base provocations, so they gathered their belongings and went to the stables. But the doors were either locked or barricaded and it was no wonder by whose order this was done.

Shrugging, Sebastian chose the furthest spot from the eye and unwanted attention and put their meager belongings side by side on the store ground. This back side of the yard was generally occupied by the servants who leered at them, but at least it was far away from the Bey’s or Kimi’s sight. 

They leaned their backs on the outer wall which was still a little bit warm and sat down in silence, observing the darkened skies above. As they sat, the small amount of sound in the house died down, too. The night chill was upon them and they decided to sleep in turns, not trusting the suddenly villainous servants of the house. 

Using Sebastian’s thin mattress as a blanket, Pierre took the first watch, insisting that Sebastian needed the sleep more than him and Sebastian curled on the mattress, leaving some sitting space for the teen. They still had the cover Pierre had been using in Kimi’s room and truth be told it was quite thin. But Sebastian didn’t say anything and let his core take over and keep his body temperature right even though he hated using it for this. Yet it was better than having to stay in that room with Kimi.

He slept for a while and as if his body remembered their earlier tandem, he woke up after three hours and let Pierre sleep. He made the teen keep the thin mattress, claiming that Pierre’s earlier bed cover was enough. Pierre wanted to protest, but Sebastian did not budge. The younger fell asleep quickly, used to the idea of sleeping outside as long as Sebastian felt safer and better this way.

Sebastian watched the skies, listening in on the little to no sound that the city around them made. It was peaceful, but Sebastian knew better. One could only guess what kind of crimes were being committed under the cover of the night’s darkness.

The idea reminded him of Kimi’s earlier behavior. Not tolerating an offender among their group was commendable, but it was also stupid to try to mete out the punishment for that offense when that punishment could be harsher and longer if the offender was kept alive. Sebastian wondered if Kimi’s idea of justice worked like a tribe man’s. For someone who was born in the capital city of a country like Shalbatana, his idea of justice and morality was pretty vague and wishy-washy, as if it could bend and work however the situation demanded for a traveling tribe that had to invent their own code of conduct according to their needs.

Sebastian hated treating criminals, too. But if he were to start deciding on who to die and who to live, he’d go crazy at some point with the amount of power that decision held. And it was even more dangerous for him, because he was practically able to save anyone from anything as long as he could lay his hands on the ill and see that their destiny wasn’t meant to stop there and a spark of life remained. That was frightening him and ever since he had become aware of this power of his, he swore that he’d help the flow of life find its way and not interfere with the destiny’s work even if the patient was a criminal.

He had killed men, too. But unless they had meant to take his life, he healed them back to give them to the authorities. He believed that Kimi could not even guess what kind of self control this required.

He sighed and shook his head, not wanting to think about it any longer. He watched the guards patrol the high walls of the house, watched the moon slowly make its way across the sky before it disappeared from his line of sight. It was calming but also hypnotizing as it was slowly but surely lulling him to sleep. Just as he was bored enough to start counting the stars above, he caught a movement from the corner of his eye. For a moment, he felt afraid, because he realized that the person, whoever it was, was coming towards them as quietly as possible. Vulnerable like this, he kept still, pretending to be sleeping, thinking about what he could do if somebody would dare to attack them. This was a small possibility, but tonight he had witnessed the hostile attitude of the servants himself.

The person approached towards where they were huddled together and Sebastian patiently and nervously waited for something, anything that might come from their uninvited and unwanted guest. Careful and light steps stopped near Sebastian as his heart hammered against his ribcage, and in a sudden movement, during which Sebastian managed to miraculously keep himself still, something soft and warm fell onto his shoulders smelling in a familiar way.

Now having a pretty good idea about who was crouching before him, Sebastian debated whether to continue pretending to be asleep or open his eyes and confront his intruder. Nimble hands gently arranged the thick cover around him and Sebastian was reminded yet again of how kind and thoughtful Kimi could be if he wanted to.

He kept his eyes closed wondering what the other might say or do next, but even though the hands disappeared, the presence of the other did not move before him as if Kimi was sitting there and watching him sleep. For some reason he couldn’t understand, the idea of being watched and guarded by Kimi while he slept made Sebastian’s heart skip a beat. Frustrated by that feeling, he opened his eyes and his eyebrows drew closer in annoyance.

“Instead of coming here to guilt trip, you could have let us sleep in the servant’s room or at the stable.” He accused harshly.

Kimi’s eyes had a glint of amusement in them as he regarded Sebastian from his crouching position. “I was wondering when you were going to open your eyes.”

At that, Sebastian  _ tsk _ ed and turned his head away, burrowing into his new velvet cover. “Why are you here? Trying to console your conscience by donating a blanket to the slaves?”

Kimi’s answer was a few seconds late as if he tried to find the right things to say. “You didn’t need to leave the room, Sebastian.”

“And you didn’t need to lock the stable doors or warn your servants, Kimi.” He looked into the bright eyes of the other youth pointedly and accusingly, but there was a self assured conviction in Kimi’s eyes which seemed unbreakable.

“For your information,” He began, “I didn’t say anything to the servants and I wasn’t the one who locked the stable doors.”

Sebastian’s eyes widened.

“Left alone unchecked, our men can be pretty cruel and indifferent towards the outsiders like you. They don’t even know where you are from. Two or so weeks are not enough time to earn trust and people don’t trust you here, your life is in danger.”

“So you are insinuating that you have been protecting us since the day we came here?” Sebastian was incredulous after hearing Kimi’s reasoning.

As usual, Kimi did not directly answer to that. “We were planning to give you two your own tent, albeit a small one.” He shrugged and stood up to stretch his legs.

Some unexplainable need urged Sebastian to stand up, too, because he didn’t want to end the conversation. He slowly stretched, minding to not make too much noise with his chains. He was aware that Pierre was awake now, but he didn’t want to continue talking about this in his presence. “Pierre, I need to talk to Kimi for a bit. I’ll be back quickly.” He whispered to the teen and saw him nod his head.

Kimi took the lead and brought Sebastian to the front yard where the palm trees and the marble fountain were. He sat on an empty chair near it and began looking into the water that filled the large bowl.

Sebastian sat on the edge of the fountain for lack of having a better spot to rest. "Then why did you act so terse when I told you I wanted to sleep somewhere else if you were already planning to give us our own space?"

“You are safer among the caravan men, they respect you, especially after those remedies you’ve sent them.” Kimi shrugged, dipping his fingers into the cold water. “But I can’t guarantee anything here.” Which was a lie, but Sebastian didn’t need to know that. “You two have a lowlier position than them. Technically, they can order you around however they want. The Bey leaves the management of the slaves to the older employees or servants. In their eyes, you are nothing here.”

Sebastian sighed at the harsh description of their situation. “Wow, thanks. Hearing that did wonders to my mood.”

“You asked and I don’t sugarcoat things.” Kimi dismissively averted his eyes. “You two could have waited to have your own privacy for a few days longer, but you chose this.”

“This is not the first time I spent the night under the stars.” Sebastian bit tersely. "You think I am some wuss who can’t even support himself, don’t you?”

Infuriating Sebastian further, Kimi silently regarded Sebastian as if he was reevaluating him about this matter. “And you think I am some ignorant fool who can’t see that you have seen and done more than you let on.”

“That same subject again.” Sebastian huffed and refused to continue that line of thought. 

Kimi did not pursue it, either, because he was the one actively trying to keep things from Sebastian. Considering that, he had no right to judge the other, even though it didn’t mean he couldn’t be bitter about knowing that. Sebastian had his secrets, too.

“But stop there for a second. What did you mean by having your privacy just a moment ago?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow in question, irked by Kimi’s choice of words.

Kimi looked thoughtful for a moment, as if he was considering whether he should say his next words or not. But he began talking nonetheless. “I know you are bothered by the incident at the bath house.” He said and to his surprise, Sebastian saw a flash of anger pass through those cold eyes as Kimi tried to distract himself and Sebastian by making splashing sounds on the water’s surface. "But I guess instead of what you fear, people might be thinking that you and Pierre are an item.”

Sebastian’s eyes widened comically and he loudly snorted at Kimi’s claim. "Me and Pierre... Having our privacy.... What the fuck?” He babbled and totally missed how Kimi didn’t even seem to be bothered by the notion. “Man, he is my brother...” He shook his head in utter dismay. “Not by blood, but we grew up together, we protect each other, and we survive together. You certainly can understand that...”

Kimi nodded solemnly, he clearly did know what Sebastian meant thanks to Nico’s existence. And no, there wasn’t anyone who might think like that about Sebastian and Pierre. He just wanted to satisfy his ego by dismissing the doubt. And Sebastian’s disgusted look was more than enough. “Don’t worry.” He assured. “I’ll warn everyone and they won’t bother you again.”

“I'd rather sleep among the camels than hear anymore about this shit.” Sebastian vehemently shook his head and cursed under his breath. Again, he wasn’t aware how Kimi was trying to suppress his smile. He looked up at the sky and tried to disperse his dark thoughts in its darker depths. He realized that there were just a few hours left to the daybreak and he sighed. “I hope you are aware that you have been costing me some precious hours of sleep recently.” He complained without any real bite in it.

Kimi’s eyes warmed with the same glint of amusement from earlier. “Wasn’t my intention.” He amended. “I just saw that you didn’t take your blanket or pillow, nor the clothes that we have bought. I thought you’d be cold."

Sebastian grimaced at that, but mostly at himself. “I was angry at you, I didn’t want them. Taking them defeated the purpose.” He confessed.

Sebastian's childish reasoning and the way he begrudgingly accepted it was so endearing that Kimi felt his face melt into a smile, but he controlled himself to avoid making the other feel self conscious. “Then, have them from now on. Have a proper set of bedding. In a few days, you’ll need them more.”

That reminded Sebastian something and emboldened by Kimi’s talkativeness, he asked. “When are you going for the next town?”

Kimi kept playing with the water, but he was only looking at Sebastian now. “In two or three day’s time. Your friend says the animals are nearly ready. We’ll pack half of the goods and set out earlier together with another caravan. The other half will catch up with us on the way.”

“Why the haste? Why not wait for the others?” Sebastian didn’t understand.

“Because, the Bey thinks that having our group as a vanguard is a good idea.” Kimi didn’t want to elaborate. “And I want this to be over with quickly.”

Kimi’s personal reason made Sebastian’s eyebrows rise. “As long as there is water somewhere you are entertained enough to stay there, huh?”

Kimi wished it was as easy as Sebastian put. He was constantly afraid of staying somewhere too long to turn that place into an arid wasteland just like how Shalbatana had been during his childhood. He’d never endanger the lives of unsuspecting people in a random town or city just because there was an oasis or lake or river there. He knew that his presence eventually caused the disappearance of whatever water body was at where he would stop for a year or so.

A sudden look of melancholy washed over Kimi’s face and it wasn’t something Sebastian expected to see upon his comment. But after seeing that, Sebastian did not pursue the thought, thinking that he might have stepped on a sore spot. To change that look of hurt that bothered him, Sebastian asked more. “Where is the next destination of the caravan?”

Kimi seemed to hesitate for a second as if he really didn’t want to disclose the information. “To the south. We’ll cross the Desert.” He answered in a roundabout way.

Sebastian didn’t like this a bit. The secrecy around their next route aside, he really didn’t want to go further to the south into the heart of the desert. Even though Sebastian knew them by name, he had never visited the cities in the desert before. He had mostly been traveling the countries on the shore of the Sea and their southern neighbors on the west and east, avoiding the Desert, because the population was small and the settlements were distant from each other. Not to mention that the Great Desert was a dangerous place for lone travelers, home to the bandits, lawless people and every kind of scum that was on the run from the authorities. But the most important problem was finding water resources and Sebastian hoped that these people knew where the major wells and oases were located in the south and created a route that followed them.

It came naturally to Sebastian, finding where the nearest alive water flow was, and left alone, he could follow them up to the point where they reached to the surface. But those places were generally the epicenter of all kinds of people. Water was too precious in the desert and some people tried to monopolize the resources and either charged the travelers highly for money or outright killed them to get rid of potential trouble. Authority was loose around places like these and they generally did not want to be cross with the tribes that monopolized the water resources.

Sebastian couldn’t decide what he hated more. “I wonder how you are going to manage this.” He murmured in clear dismay, because he had the same concern for himself, too.

“I have been traveling around these lands since I was twelve, Sebastian. I have managed to survive to this day.”

“As I have.” Sebastian started to play with his shackles. The one on his right hand was giving him trouble. “But then I was free.” That forlorn expression was on his face again. “I don’t even know if I can fight properly like this when someone decides that he wants a share from the fortune that you plan to carry around.”

Kimi watched him as Sebastian scratched at a sore and red spot on his wrist, totally unaware of what he was doing to himself. It looked so painful that Kimi cringed internally at the sight. Even from where he sat, he could see the accumulating wounds that the chains created and reopened each day, each minute. “Few are foolish enough to dare to do that.” He spoke assuredly, but he was unable to look elsewhere from those hands.

Sebastian chuckled at that humorlessly. “That desert is the nest of exactly those kinds of fools and I am sure many of the wells are either ambushed or surrounded by them.”

“That’s not so easy.” Kimi refused. “You have no experience further south, do you?”

Sebastian stopped itching at his wounds and swore silently when he saw that his fingers were bloody now. “No, I don’t.” He admitted tersely. “Why would I go where there are less people to cure yet more trouble to evade?”

Kimi nodded at that, finding it reasonable. “You say nice things about healing people and such, but those wounds still remain.” He pointedly looked at Sebastian’s hands.

Sebastian’s eyebrows rose at the comment, immediately hiding his hands with the thick velvet cover, even though he hated bloodying it. “That’s my business.” He grimaced and faced the opposite direction in annoyance.

“Why? If your hands and feet get infected don’t you know what happens to them without properly curing the wounds?” Kimi asked, suddenly incredulous and a bit angry.

That tone of voice piqued Sebastian’s attention and he faced him to see if he heard him right. Kimi had an incredulous and accusatory look, and it angered Sebastian. But for some reason, he could only laugh at the rare display of emotion.

“They’d go gangrene and have to be cut?” He questioned without actually waiting for a reply. “And please tell me what does it matter to you if a slave loses his hands or feet?” His eyes were serious, but his lips were twisted into a mirthless and tight smile.

Kimi looked at him with hard eyes and then his expression softened without him being aware of it. “Give them to me.” He demanded, nodding at the hidden hands.

Sebastian’s countenance changed immediately. He burrowed further into the cover and instinctively leaned a bit back, his face losing the anger. Instead, it filled with trepidation, suspicion and fear.

Seeing that on the other’s face was a hurtful experience for Kimi, but he didn’t dwell on the feeling. “I won’t hurt you, I promise.” He tried and held out his hand, waiting.

Sebastian didn’t know what to do. This impulsive guy always demanded things, always had his reasons. And he felt offended to hear Kimi’s promise. “If I was afraid of being hurt, I would have already healed them.” He narrowed his eyes down at the waiting hand and then at Kimi’s infuriatingly calm green-grey eyes.

“I know you don’t fear pain.” Kimi agreed. “I just want you to know that inflicting you more of it is not my intention.”

There was such a reassuring, confident look in those eyes that Sebastian huffed in surrender and gave him the hand that he had been scratching at. But contrary to his expectation Kimi’s hand did not burn him.

Kimi held onto that hand, upturning it and inspected the edges of the metal where it dug into the skin. He reached into his shalvar’s pocket and procured a white piece of cotton cloth and dipped it into the fountain. Then he began to clean the blood as gently as he could.

Sebastian watched him with wide eyes, silent and still as Kimi almost reverently cleaned the wounds. “What are you doing?” He asked, feeling the unusual warmness of those hands flow to him, spreading over his skin, crawling up his limb intimately. He felt his cheeks colour at the feeling, thankful that it was night time. He couldn’t take his hand back to not draw the other’s attention, so he let the warmness soothe him like a fur blanket on a cold night.

“I would care, Sebastian.” Kimi brought him back to the present, answering Sebastian’s earlier question. “If you were to lose these hands, I would feel as if I’ve lost my own.”

Sebastian’s mouth slowly fell open at that in a show of pleased disbelief. The emotion was so strange that water collected in his eyes and his heart picked up speed. “That’s a lie.” He weakly voiced his doubt even though he was really touched by Kimi’s admission.

“No, that’s the truth.” Kimi took Sebastian’s other hand and gently cleaned it, too, without looking up at him. “These hands work, they never tire. They make, not destroy. They keep people alive without discriminating between them.” Here a small self derisive smile appeared on his face. “They give life. Thus, they matter... So, please, heal them, Sebastian.” And he looked up only to meet the greatly upset face of the younger man.

Sebastian was watching him with emotion swimming in his eyes, shimmering like liquid stars. The moment he blinked, a tear fell from his left eye and with a furious movement he broke their contact and wiped away that tear and the others that followed it. He turned around half way, hiding his hands again, not looking at Kimi. “After putting these chains on me with your own hands, saying all these...” His voice broke even though he tried to keep it steady. “Really, Kimi... It was a nice sentiment. You can talk pretty sweetly when you want.” He half smiled and half snorted, but the effect of it quickly waned as another involuntary teardrop fell and was viciously wiped away. “I won’t heal them and don’t worry, they won’t get infected.” He bit his lip in self abhorrence, because he believed he had let Kimi make him feel vulnerable again.

He stood up and without looking back, stepped towards where he had come from. But Kimi quickly got a hold of him from his elbow, and in a flash, Sebastian was whisked towards the other man. 

This time Sebastian didn’t resist him and let himself be manhandled. His wet eyes met with concerned pale green ones. Kimi’s face was painted with a mix of regret and worry. He clearly didn’t know what to do or say, his expression was that of desperation. At another time, Sebastian would have celebrated himself for putting all those emotions there, but not now.

“If these hands were as valuable as you’ve claimed, you’d unlock these chains, you’d let me be free.” He soullessly gazed into Kimi’s eyes as if all fight was drained from him.

Kimi could only shake his head. “I can’t do that.” He whispered.

Sebastian had been expecting that answer. Kimi was not the owner, he could not free some slaves and waste the Bey’s money.

“Then those words...” Sebastian shrugged harshly and made Kimi let him go. “Unless I am free and we stand as equals... They are meaningless, Kimi. They are just empty sentiments.”

And without another word, Kimi was left alone there, standing by the fountain with a lost look on his face. He grabbed onto the edge of the fountain, his fingers in the water. How he managed to make Sebastian cry yet again, he did not understand. All he knew was that whenever he saw those tears in those eyes, he wanted to destroy something.

He wasn’t even aware that the water in the fountain was boiling.

-

TBC...


	7. Chapter 7

Sitting on the bed, now alone in his room, Kimi was going through the official correspondence between their trade guild and his caravan. 

Tonight, his room was silent and felt almost empty and cold even though warm flames illuminated the room in the fireplace. After yesterday night's talk that he had with Sebastian, Kimi just couldn't bring himself to look at the other youth's sad eyes; so, he simply let him go mostly to spare himself from facing the amounting guilt he was feeling. 

Sebastian and Pierre were possibly already asleep in the stable just as they'd preferred to be and the spot they used to occupy in his room was now glaringly empty. 

He took a deep breath and sighed, trying to focus his wandering mind back onto the papers from the memory of Sebastian's wet blue eyes. It was a hard task with all the berating he was getting from the Ifreet of the fireplace as it drilled his angry words into Kimi's head. And for the millionth time, Kimi wished that other people could also hear the Ifreets' endless tirads of threats and mocking so that they would take pity on him.

"Shut up or I will douse you with a bucket of water." He muttered under his breath, seriously considering going down into the yard and working at Nico's table to escape from the djinn.

 _"Can't escape from your conscience even though you can escape from me, King…"_ The djinn was not intimidated by Kimi's threats at all. _"If your next course wouldn't have already been set, I would have shown you what to do with that bucket of water of yours."_

That made Kimi raise an angry eyebrow at the djinn's way. Even though the guardian spirit called him as his King, Kimi had always suspected that it was more of a performative act rather than done out of real respect. All because he didn't have a balanced core and couldn't control the whole spectrum of his own power. "You do realize that if you burn down this house you'll lose your abode, too. Right?" He reminded, his voice low but dangerous.

The djinn was jumping on the coal pieces, calm. _"We never die… We never die… We never die…"_ He was chanting, knowing that it grated on Kimi's nerves.

"You never die, yes, but you can lose your sense of self. Would you like me to send you back to the Great Essence and be done with you?" Kimi narrowed his eyes down and waited for the response of the djinn. His annoyance was amounting and he still had things to read and write.

The spirit guardian stopped moving around the coal pieces and regarded him with his features made of flames. _"King… You don't understand."_ He tut-tutted as if he was berating a small kid. _"I would have burned this place down as I promised to you for treating him this way, but it is already burning. I didn't even have to flick an ember at it."_ He giggled.

Kimi regarded the orange flames in distaste. "The house is as intact as it ever was. What the hell are you going on about?" Really, now… Nothing grated on Kimi's nerves more than the enigmatic and almost half crazy way the Ifreets preferred to talk to him. 

_"Not all houses are of bricks and mortar, King. Some are of flesh and bones…"_ The djinn kicked at a coal piece, making the fire cracked and the embers sizzle. When Kimi continued looking at him in silence, he huffed and gathered up the coal pieces in the center to keep the flames going strong. _"You really don't understand, huh…"_ He mused. _"Alright… I give up. I will leave you be if you put a few pieces of coal here."_ He demanded and went silent.

Kimi took a deep breath and sighed. He rubbed a hand at his face, briefly considering to deny the Ifreet in a childish need to antagonize him. But eventually he got up and fed the flames with more coal. He needed the light.

Gathering all the unread letters and the already open ones, he laid them out on the floor and flopped down beside the fireplace to keep himself awake with the brightness of its illumination. 

Legal matters always bored him to death and were mostly managed by Nico, but he liked to be up to date about what kind of information was being exchanged on the road through the hawks.

Recently, the guild was frequently asking them of their route and the cargo information, putting forth safety as their reason. He sideeyed the large map on which he had outlined their route to Dain together with Nico. 

The correspondence letter that Nico had written back to the guild only consisted of numbers, and in all honesty, Kimi absolutely didn't want to add anything on it. Each number was designated to a well or an outpost and the estimated date of arrival to the said spot. 

His mood fouling further, Kimi rolled his eyes at the letter. Everybody knew that those dates wildly fluctuated due to the unpredictable desert conditions. He really didn't see the merit in the guild asking for them, but whatever. If they wanted to keep their tabs on him, then he was going to let them.

He massaged at the creak in his neck and folded Nico's letter back into a little strip. Some coffee would have been great now, but he felt lazy. He idly wondered if Sebastian would have been here, would he brew him some like he'd do for his friend, Pierre. He bit on his lip and hastily broke the seal of a letter from the palace. This was no time for having this kind of wistful thoughts. The letter was from his father.

With great distaste he read the contents. His father was informing him about yet another marriage prospect, the daughter of a commander from the Batanii army. Kimi vaguely recalled who the soldier in question was and snorted at the idea and at the persistence of the Council.

They needed another heir, be it a girl or a boy, it didn't matter. Anyone but Kimi would do from the same royal bloodline. 

Kimi drew his legs to himself and thought. His father and mother had married young. When he was born, his mother had been only seventeen years old. Until the time that the Council had realized what Kimi actually was, his mother and father didn't try to have another kid. Well, to be honest, Kimi didn't know if they had tried to have other kids yet given up after realizing that nothing was happening or if they actually were content with having only Kimi. But in the end, rumors had begun and when those had rumors proven to be true, Kimi had been exiled.

Now, thinking about it, Kimi couldn't imagine the pressure on his father and mother to have a second child all these years. He could remember hearing gossip about how the Council had been forcing his father to take in another wife and try with her. His mother's sad but persevering face came to his mind and he gritted his teeth. She'd never told him anything and possibly done everything in her power to spare him from hearing these gossips, but Kimi had grown up way earlier than he was meant to and knew and heard it all.

His resentment against the Council growing, he turned his eyes at the fire again. Now that he was at the right age to take in a wife or a consort, he had been getting this kind of letters since he'd turned 18. 

Considering that his mother was 41 years old now, the Council had to have given up on her and from the tone of the letter, Kimi could tell that soon the Council was going to give up on him to produce an heir, too… He had been a buffer of sorts for his parents about this subject since he had turned of age, but as years went by and he recently turned 24, the Council would soon refocus their attention back on his parents.

A part of him was coldly merciless at the idea of his father being forced to take in another wife, but the other part of him was sad to see what his mother had been enduring because of him.

If only he had been normal… If only he'd been just a normal youth instead of having this accursed power that he couldn't control…

How funny was that the same Council which kicked him out of the country and didn't want him as their next ruler was also so desperate for him to return and be a dutiful prince for the goodness of his country and take in an unloved wife simply to make her bear children for him… So that they could kick him out of his own homeland again… 

He wondered how long it was going to take for them to formally request his presence back to their kingdom to fulfill their duty. They had to be aware that if Kimi would so choose to stay and be their king, nothing could stand before his fire and stop him. But he was neither interested in being a ruler of any kind, nor he was the heartless and merciless sun that they always imagined him to be. He owed them nothing, but at the same time, he never wanted to hurt his countrymen deliberately even after going through so much pain because of them. He knew that the Council was precisely going to appeal to his humane side and guilty conscience and force him to make a decision soon. 

He rubbed both of his hands at his face. He didn't want to marry with someone out of a sense of duty and he hated the idea that his kid would be taken from him. Wandering alonside of a caravan was not the best to be raised as the next ruler of a kingdom of Shalbatana's side and Kimi wouldn't be able to stay in the country. So, he'd be an outsider in his kid's life with nobody to keep him or her safe from the games and tricks of those old foxes. He would never subject his kid to what his father and the Council forced him to endure. So, marriage was out of the question. They had to find another way no matter how it might hurt his mother in the process. Neither now nor in the near future Kimi didn't think he'd find the heart to let go of his vindication.

 _"In that, you have every right to feel that way, King…"_ The Ifreet spoke right beside him in a calm voice and caught his attention. 

For some reason, even though he knew that his spirit guardians had always been more of a bother to him than being his companions, he felt a bit of elation to know that the spirits felt the same way about this. It was a consolation of sorts and with that, he folded up the heavy parchment and tucked it back into its envelope.

He planned to ask Nico to pen a suitable response to the offer tomorrow, but for now, he just wanted to be in the oasis.

Feeding the fire with a few more coal pieces as a sort of appreciation for the Ifreet's earlier solidarity, he stood up and got a few garments ready.

When he reached the stable to saddle his horse, his eyes searched for the corner where Sebastian and Pierre were sleeping. Finding them huddled on the right side of the entrance, he couldn't help but approach the sleeping youths. 

Sebastian was sleeping on the side of the wall with Pierre covering him from the entrance, almost in a way one would guard the other from whatever might come through the stable doors. 

Kimi knelt beside Sebastian's head and reached out to him. He intended to wake him up so that the other youth would accompany him to the oasis, but under the pale moonlight that filtered in from the doors, Sebastian looked tired and in deep slumber. 

He withdrew his hand, unable to bring himself to disturb the sleeping healer. Sighing silently, a wry little smile tugged at his lips when he thought that if he'd wake Sebastian up now, he would only make him even more upset with him and regard him with those tormented yet fervent eyes of his. He wasn't willing to face Sebastian's rightful ire no matter how much he also craved his companionship right now. So, he gave up his plan and decided to go alone. But he didn't stand up before pulling up the blanket and covering Sebastian's shoulders. That made the younger man settle deeper into his sleep and Kimi found some solace at the sight.

Practically tearing himself off from the floor, Kimi forced himself to leave and away from the healer. He headed into the night, heart heavy and head filled with heavier thoughts.

* * *

Sebastian and Pierre's days had become busier in the following days.

Sebastian was given the task of helping the men who were making balanced packs out of the silk stored in the underground rooms of the house.

They were bringing the rolls of fabric up from the underground depository to unroll and inspect them for any damages. Then they let them air a bit under the sun and refolded them to tightly pack with others for the camels to carry. The bundles weren't going to be opened until they would reach their destination, so they had to make them sturdy enough to endure the long way and the harsh elements out there.

It was tedious work, but Sebastian liked working with the fabric rolls. Their colors were bright; they miraculously did not smell damp or foul even though they were kept underground. The rolls were in quite a good condition and he could easily say that they were about to carry around a fortune in the desert. He highly suspected that the person in the Customs who was going to sign the papers for this would shut up about it and not sell the information. But it wasn't Sebastian's concern as long as it would mean that he could find an opening and get away. His sole concern was whether he could escape or whether he could survive an attack unarmed if the worst would happen.

Clearing his head from the dark thoughts, he concentrated on his job, enjoying the feeling of being able to use his hands freely. Kimi had apparently left the keys of his shackles to Arnall this time and even though the green eyed youth was not here, he was surrounded by ten of Nico's men and the guardians of the house. They had to have thought that Sebastian would be manageable even when his hands were free, so here he was, his hands unchained.

With the lack of the shackles, his terrible wounds were all the more obvious. Some of the men even pointed that out, asking him why they did not heal when Sebastian was such a talented healer. Sebastian, still sour and sad because of the night in the garden with Kimi, just told them that he healed the wounds, but the chains inflicted them again. Though his core would heal the discolored, weakened and sick skin if Sebastian would let it, he consciously kept his own life flow from mending the scar tissue. He wouldn't be infected, just as he had said. He wasn't willing to lose a limb or two due to his own stubbornness, he made sure of that. But as long as he was a captive, he wasn't going to heal them.

He was aware that he'd hurt Kimi's feelings that night, accusing him like that, as if Kimi was the one responsible for all these, but he couldn't help it. His ire was towards those bandits and slave traders, yet Kimi was the closest and easiest person on whom Sebastian could pour all his frustrations. He had to have shaken him so much that today Kimi had given the keys to his aidee and let Sebastian work with delicate material like this as an excuse to unlock his chains for him to not damage the silk. Sebastian could have been simply ordered to carry the rolls and the packs around instead of this, but Kimi was apparently trying to amend for the tears of that night. Sebastian didn't know if he should stay angry or forget it and mull over why Kimi was trying his best to please him, look after him and create a truce between them. 

He wondered if it was wrong to liken Kimi's hands to these silk fabric pieces, because that night, Kimi’s touch was like this; feather light, gentle, and warm in a pleasant way, not burning and claiming. And the night that he had prevented Sebastian from falling... That night had been like that, too.

Even though the memory of those hands sliding against his skin caused color to rise on Sebastian's cheeks, he firmly believed that it came naturally to Kimi, this kindness, this gentle aura, those sweet words, warm eyes and soft touches... 

Sebastian had met all sorts of people even though he was young. He could recognize maliciousness and illintend concealed under kind eyes and deceptive smiles. Yet Kimi had none of them. His eyes were bare; his emotions, even though he rarely chose to show them, were true and undecorated. What Kimi did or said, he really meant them and this both amazed and bothered Sebastian.

If Kimi had been a shameless liar, it would have been easier to stay angry with him. Then his actions and words wouldn't have busied Sebastian's mind and he wouldn't have had stupid thoughts like comparing Kimi's touch to silk, admitting that he liked the warmth that spread over his skin from those hands, that he liked it in a perhaps vengeful way when those cool eyes had regarded him with a mix of panic, regret, worry and care.

Sebastian scolded himself for feeling this way about the other, but there was no denying that it was getting harder and harder for him to hold onto his misdirected ire to justify his negative perception of Kimi. He knew he was simply being childish, but this was the only way he felt himself safe against what Kimi was knowingly or unknowingly trying to make him feel.

He huffed and continued refolding a flower printed piece of silk, turning his attention to the laughing and joking men who tried to have some fun while working under the sweltering sun.

By noon, they had finished nearly half of the work, neat bales of valuable fabric stashed on the corner of the front yard, waiting to be saddled onto the camels. Then, they were called to get their lunches and drinks. 

As Sebastian ate his share in a corner under the shade, Kimi came into the house with someone in his tow. He walked past him, his eyes lingering on him, a bit widening. Even though Sebastian did not understand the reason for the other male's reaction, he pointedly kept his head high, refusing to be the one who'd avert his eyes. But apparently, Kimi's mind was preoccupied, because he turned his head away, barely acknowledging the salutations of the men around who were sitting and eating their fill.

Kimi and his guest directly went towards the main building's shade where there was a table and some chairs. Immediately, Mei was beside them, nodding her head as Kimi explained to her something. 

Sebastian couldn't hear their voice among the chit chat of the workers around him, but he could see that Kimi's guest was someone important.

The man was taller than Kimi and Nico. He had short dark hair, but several thin braids were falling on his nape and shoulders from the side of his head, the ends of which were decorated with beads. His jawline was prominent and giving him a ragged but sophisticated look. His hazel eyes had a stunning hue about them, intelligent and calculative. He was looking around the garden, inspecting the bales that the men had prepared. His clothes looked expensive, his cream colored bist flowing around him luxuriously. Next to him, Kimi looked quite plain and ordinary in his clothes even though Sebastian guessed that Kimi's shiny belt and decorated kilij had to be worth a fortune. 

The man had too many rings on his long fingers and quite a few necklaces dangling from his neck onto his chest. 

Sebastian was sure that under that silk bist there was a dagger or short kilij, but he seriously doubted that the weapon had seen any good use. This kind of men preferred to walk around with bodyguards instead of doing their own work.

The man finished scrutinizing the store house and turned his attention back to Kimi who looked as indifferent as ever. Sebastian wondered if Kimi found the other man's open interest as weird or rude, because Sebastian thought it was. But Kimi was a master of poker faces and he did not even show an ounce of displeasure as he sat there.

Mei came back with two servants and they quickly set up a wonderful lunch for them to enjoy. Sebastian watched them eat and talk for a while out of sheer boredom and then turned his attention back to his own food.

When everyone finished, they went back to work and Sebastian pretty much ignored Kimi and his guest since he couldn't hear anything they were saying. But as the lunch was cleared and maps and documents were spread in their place, Sebastian started to have this disturbing feeling of being watched. At first, he shrugged it off as he was used to Kimi's unrelenting gaze by now and went about with his work. Yet he could tell that the prying eyes did not belong to Kimi. The other youth's gaze had never disturbed him. This was something entirely different. Reining in his irritation, he endured. And just as the tall man indicated his intention of departure, Sebastian's eyes were involuntarily drawn to him.

Kneejerk repulsion hit him as soon as he met those dark eyes that regarded him with unapologetic hunger and, dare he say, lust. The man was clearly amused by the sudden look of disbelief and derision that appeared on Sebastian's face. He smirked at him in a totally relaxed way as if flirting with a slave in public was a usual occurrence for him. The man openly sized him up and did not hesitate in doing so. Sebastian quickly tore his eyes away, disgusted by the man's blatant show of sensuality as if Sebastian was a piece of meat, not a sentient human being.

Surprisingly, none of the men seemed to catch that moment as no one commented on it and Sebastian found a little consolation in that while the guest was seen off to his way by Kimi. He thanked whatever was holy that Nico was nothing like this man and he hoped that he'd never see that guy with the braids again.

That night when Pierre returned, they found two sets of beds, blankets and pillows with permission to use a clean corner of the stables as their temporary sleeping quarters. It was Kimi's doing, Sebastian knew that, but he refused to approach the other to thank him for it. Because when Kimi had told the men that it was enough work done for today, he had passed by Sebastian without even making eye contact. This irked Sebastian and he quickly left the garden after his chains were reattached by Arnall.

Having eaten their dinner, he and Pierre were sitting near the entrance of the stable, completely alone, save for the guardian on the high wall of the backyard. Sebastian told Pierre about the man whom Kimi had eaten his lunch with and to his astonishment, Pierre recognized him right after Sebastian had described the man.

"A tall man with a crème colored bist, right? He came to the animal keep with Kimi today."

Sebastian cringed internally at the news. "What did they do?"

"Nothing much..." Pierre shrugged, playing with his chains. "They walked around a bit and talked, though I couldn't hear about what."

"I hope this man has nothing to do with our travel ahead." Sebastian grumbled in irritation.

"Why? What happened here?

Sebastian considered if he should tell Pierre about how the other man had been ogling him the whole afternoon and how he had looked at him when their eyes had met. It was degrading to talk about something like that, but here, all he could count on was Pierre and he decided that he shouldn't keep this from him.

"That man looked at me as if he considered me less than dirt, as if I was an object." He gritted his teeth.

At that, Pierre's eyes narrowed down in equal displeasure. "Nico was together with us when they arrived, and believe it or not, that man was looking at the Bey as if he could eat him."

Sebastian's eyebrows drew together. "And what did the Bey do?"

"He ignored him and Kimi did not let him stay around the Bey for too long."

"That man is trouble. I hope we'll never see him again."

Pierre nodded his agreement, sharing in Sebastian's frustration and anger.

* * *

Within two more days, all the silk was packed, all the items and the necessities the travelers might need were prepared and saddled onto the well-rested and treated camels, ready to go.

It was time for Kimi's smaller vanguard group to depart as Sebastian and Pierre slowly proceeded with the long row of animals and the men on foot or horseback. They cursed their luck yet again for bringing them here and throwing them onto an unknown road until the time they could find a way to escape.

Under the afternoon sun, they walked towards the outskirts of the city where the lake was located and they idled there for about half an hour, filling their barrels and skins with water, letting the animals have a last taste from the oasis.

Sebastian watched Nico and Kimi's parting and saw how Kimi couldn't keep himself from approaching the waters with his horse in tow. At that moment, as they waited, Sebastian would have very much liked to get closer to the lake and talk to its Arank for the last time, but it was impossible. They were waiting together with the other slaves under the shade of the animals and it would draw too much attention to them. But nothing could stop him from admiring the sight of the brilliant blue. So he gazed upon it fondly and promised himself to come back here when he'd be a free man again.

Thankfully, their wait did not last for long, because he could see how agitated Kimi was getting due to being unable to swim even though the lake was right before him. Sebastian got a vengeful satisfaction out of the other's misery, because here he was going through the same torment himself. At least, he wasn't alone in this.

Yet his enjoyment quickly vanished. They were joined by a caravan of a bit of a bigger size which was headed by none other than that tall Bey with the lecherous eyes from before.

Sebastian and Pierre looked on in bewilderment as the man shook hands with Kimi and started talking to him in a merry way.

"It was that man." Pierre whispered to him and Sebastian nodded, both of them deliberately turning away from the sight.

"Who is he?" Sebastian asked the nearest slave sitting beside him. The slave looked at him as if he couldn't comprehend how Sebastian did not know the other man.

"Master Webber?" The slave raised an eyebrow and then understanding dawned on him. "Ah, right... You are new here. That man is a Bey, owner of this caravan that's gonna be travelling with us until the meeting point with Nico Bey."

Sebastian's displeasure and disappointment had to be visible, because the other slave had this strange look on his face. "Wait, have you met him before?"

Sebastian resisted visibly cringing, a defeated sigh leaving his lips. "I saw him once." He admitted.

"Then let me tell you something. Whatever you've heard of him to twist your face like that is probably true." 

Sebastian nodded solemnly at the slave and when they heard Arnall's shout for them to get ready, they scrambled onto their feet and paid extra attention to look as inconspicuous as possible.

By now, both Sebastian and Pierre knew Kimi's group by their faces if not by the names yet; so they stuck with them, avoiding the men of the other caravan like the plague.

As they walked and left the city of Nefer behind, they saw women slaves among Webber's group, all of them really beautiful and quite young even though their number wasn't more than the fingers of a hand. Pierre nodded towards another group for Sebastian to look and not surprisingly, Sebastian saw a couple of young men who were following the women, dressed as lavishly as the females, all good looking and clean. So, as long as they were pretty and young, Webber didn't mind if they were male or female...

Sebastian hated his current situation with the very fiber of his being, but he couldn't deny the luck of being bought by Nico. He wondered why someone like Nico or Kimi would agree upon an arrangement like this with someone of Webber's character. He mentally shrugged. As long as he and Pierre were safe, it was none of his business.

He concentrated his attention around, observing the people of the other Bey's caravan. After listening in on their conversations, it was easy to understand that most of the men were from Qenaan. Sebastian had spent quite a good amount of his time in that country and could speak their language well. It was interesting to see that some of Kimi's men were having a conversation with Webber's men in Qenaanii, apparently knowing each other from earlier encounters. Thanks to that, Sebastian could get some information, too.

Webber's group was carrying salt, something very valuable for the people of the inlands as most of the salt was produced in the north, by the sea. They were talking about selling some of their precious cargo in the southern city of Asvan in Tianna. Sebastian wondered if that city was where they were going to meet with Nico's group. He knew that city only by name and had never been there before. Thus, he had no idea how long it would take them to reach there. He wished he had a map or better yet, he could ask about it to someone. But it would raise suspicion and Sebastian didn't need that.

By the time the night fell, they had already crossed the lands which had a semblance of what could be considered as arable terrain. Now the arid wastelands and the sandy desert began to creep around them for real. The temperature fell considerably, but thanks to there being no wind, it was bearable even without wearing overcoats or thicker clothes. 

Under the eerily bright night sky neither of the caravans seemed to be about to have a break or stop for food and a bit of rest. Somebody from their group shared around dried meat, bread and dried fruits which made up their humble dinner. 

Sebastian suspected that they were most probably going to walk till the sundown of the next day and then set a camp in a designated area. Travelling at night was not his favorite thing to do even though the burning sun was gone, because one could easily lose his way or fall into a trap set by the bandits, but apparently these people knew what they did as they advanced into the night with sure steps.

Chewing on the dried food and chatting with Pierre proved to be nice distractions from sleep, but Sebastian caught himself squinting his eyes into the darkness in search of Kimi several times. Berating himself for his impulsive behavior, he sourly directed his attention elsewhere, but try as he might, he couldn't understand his need to see the quiet man even though Kimi was not in sight. He was probably together with that Webber guy and for a moment Sebastian wondered if the tall man made the same bedroom eyes at Kimi, too. 

The thought was equally disquieting, but Sebastian knew that if Webber had ever dared to do so, he wouldn't have been here. Why he was so sure of it, Sebastian couldn't explain, but Kimi had the eyes of someone who did not tolerate things like unwanted attention. Sebastian shook his head. Even if the opposite was true, he knew that it was none of his business, however irritating the idea of it might be. And he refused to acknowledge why he'd felt that way about it.

The sunrise was beautiful even though its bright glare immediately swept away any semblance of the coolness from the air. It swiftly got hot and the caravan stopped for a few minutes for people to get some breakfast and for the animals to have a breather. But their break didn't last long. They were back on the move again and not surprisingly, the last night's chatty lot was all quiet now. Not many people had the enough energy to spare for talking and geniality.

They sometimes threaded on rocky terrain and sometimes on the bare and dead soil that was slowly but surely being swallowed by the creeping desert sand. 

At least, Sebastian could still feel the thin trail of the underground water running beneath the wasteland that they traversed over. There was nothing around in the name of vegetation other than the occasional bushes with brittle, thorny branches or small gray cactuses full of thorns. Pierre told him that he had seen a few snakes and small rodents around, but other than that, the land was lifeless.

Sebastian wondered what would happen if he'd spent a year or so in the desert. His presence mellowed the harshness of the sun and eventually gathered heavy and loaded rain clouds. But once the clouds appeared, there was no stopping the rain unless he'd leave that place for a period of time.

Would he be able to make it rain in the desert? And what would happen if the rain would be torrential just like the one he had caused right after his father's death? Some part of him was really curious, but the other part hoped to never find it out.

Finally, before the evening settled, the caravans stopped and the men quickly unloaded the animals to give them a rest. Pierre was called to tend to the horses and some men started to set up practical tents to sleep under. A few people were building fire in several spots to get some dinner going. 

Sebastian was one of the people who were tasked to make dinner. To his surprise, Kimi's men had a fine stock of ingredients to use. Together with three other men, Sebastian made a moist pilaf with root veggies, dried meat and several grains. It turned out quite tasty and Sebastian took two bowls from it. He found Pierre and shared his dinner. They sat near the animals and observed the others.

The camp was large but quiet. It took no genius to realize that everyone was tired. Some people had already eaten their fill and were asleep upon their mattresses even before it was completely dark. Sebastian didn't blame them. He and Pierre were about to fall asleep on their feet, too, but the teen was called back to help feeding the animals and Sebastian was asked to see a man who was said to have vomited severely during the day.

Though it was clear before Sebastian even touched the ill man, as soon as he put his hand on his forehead, he sensed that the man was terribly dehydrated and got a sunstroke. He wasn't perspiring and that was a problem, because the man wasn't lucid, either.

Such luck for the first day of their travel… Sebastian suspected that it was mostly due to the guy's old age and a case of drinking too much alcohol which caused accelerated dehydration.

The other men in the tent helped him to undress and wipe at the old man's chest and arms with wet clothes in order to keep him cool. Sebastian really didn't want to use his core energy this early on their way, but the old man needed it. His liver and heart were in bad shape and if they couldn't make him sweat, he was probably going to die. So, Sebastian subtly helped the old man's lifeforce to return to its normal flow and the unconscious man shuddered visibly as beads of sweat slowly appeared on his skin. Sebastian told one of the men to continue wiping at the sick with a wet cloth and gave him a bottle from his bag of remedies to cure the mineral loss.

He told the old man's caretakers to make him drink water as much as they could, but slowly. The men looked at him with something akin to reverence in their eyes and Sebastian felt elated. 

Kimi had been right. People of the caravan treated him better than the servants of the house; not like a slave, but like the healer that he was. So, with a smile, he warned. "Tell the gramps to drink less. Wine seeps the water out of the body like a sponge."

With that, he left the tent only to run into Kimi who was coming to check upon his man. At the sight of the other youth, Sebastian felt his heart pick up speed needlessly and he ignored it.

Kimi looked genuinely concerned and Sebastian admired his bond with the men. "How is he?"

"He is fine. Sunstroke..." Sebastian explained. "No internal bleeding thankfully. But I advise you to send him back to Nefer."

Kimi's eyebrows rose at that. "Why?"

Sebastian shrugged, wiping his still wet hands on the edge of his long shirt. "His liver and heart are damaged. He has to either stop drinking or consider retirement."

Kimi nodded in resignation, trusting Sebastian's judgment. He did not press the matter further and Sebastian took his momentary loss of focus to turn around and go his way, not wanting to prolong their talk even though his eyes had searched for Kimi all day.

Apparently, Kimi thought differently, because he quickly fell into step with him, walking by his side. But for some reason, or because Kimi being Kimi, he did not talk more.

Frustrated by the silence, Sebastian couldn't stop himself from asking. "You need to tell me something?"

Kimi looked at a loss of words for a moment as if he had just caught himself doing something he didn't mean to do, and Sebastian watched him struggle to find some excuse. It was obvious that Kimi wanted to say something. That was why he had to have tailed along, but it was evident he hadn't done that consciously.

Sebastian didn't know if he should find it hilarious and snort or think that it was sweet of someone who looked like a bandit to act like a lost puppy upon a mere question. "Are you alright?" He asked, somehow his own mood mellowing, too.

Kimi blinked, finally catching himself and returning to his normal behavior. "Are you?" He asked back, glancing at Sebastian who had a small smile on his lips now.

They were strolling around the camp together now and to Sebastian it looked like nobody cared seeing the two of them together. He wondered if it had anything to do with Kimi's promise about telling his people to shut up and not bother him. The possibility was both upsetting and somehow liberating. Sebastian just didn't want to stick like a sore thumb among these people. "I am fine." He raised an eyebrow. "What made you think otherwise?"

Kimi was regarding him with a critical eye as if he doubted the answer. "You were looking at the lake with such a longing yesterday. That's why." He explained.

Really, it shouldn't come as a surprise to Sebastian to be observed this closely by Kimi, but it was still fascinating for him to be the object of Kimi's close scrutiny. "It takes one to know the feeling to recognize it in the others, huh?" He smugly smiled. To his surprise, Kimi smiled back softly. 

"Yeah, I guess so." He murmured. "There aren't many lakes on our route and Nefer was beautiful."

"Then I assume we'll go southeast." Sebastian contemplated, because the southeast was Arda's river basin and even though the river cut the desert in two, there were plenty of well watered lands on both of the river banks.

Kimi mumbled a _yes_. He didn't look like he was pleased about their route any more than Sebastian was. Less water meant more hardships to overcome, but beyond the desert, there was going to be the ocean and the only thing that motivated Kimi was the prospect of seeing it again.

"It takes us further away from Arda." Sebastian complained. "The upper part of the river basin is too far away and the middle part is so gorged on water that these lands are completely drained of their underground reserves."

"How can you talk so sure about that?" Kimi's voice sounded doubtful.

Sebastian turned his side to look at him and as he guessed right, Kimi's defenses were up again like whenever they talked about the dam.

Sebastian could feel it, the lessening of the water under the wasteland that they traveled over. There was an unusual swelling in the main lake of the dam. He had felt it whilst he'd been in Shalbatana, but this was not the time to talk about hows and whys. "I hope I am wrong." He cryptically answered. It looked like Kimi wanted to argue on this, but Sebastian turned his head away, now all humor and playfulness gone. 

That made Kimi desist, too. He continued looking at Sebastian without commenting on the subject anymore.

Sebastian considered heading towards where his and Pierre's beds were, seeing that his earlier comment ruined the easygoing mood a bit, but Kimi was still walking with him. So, he decided to approach the central fire built for the cooking. Not many people were around it and the ones who sat near it were not within earshot.

Sebastian sat on a vacant cushion and Kimi did the same. One of the men from the group that surrounded the fire approached them and handed them two small cups filled with a dark liquid. It was coffee and had such a strong tang to it that Sebastian's throat burned. "Gah! How do they drink this?" He grimaced even though he continued sipping the hot liquid.

"These are our guards for the night. They want to stay awake. You shouldn't drink much if you want to sleep." Kimi drank his share easily as if it was plain water.

"Then you shouldn't either. Don't you want to sleep?"

"I am going to stay with the men a bit longer." Kimi finished his cup at the second sip.

With an impulse that he regretted, Sebastian uttered the first question that came to his mind. "Will the Bey of the other caravan accompany you?" He wished he could bite his tongue off as soon as the question left his lips, so instead, he willingly burned his tongue on his coffee.

Kimi looked uncomprehending for a moment and then he shrugged. "Webber? He prefers to stay in his tent."

"And you?" Sebastian tried to avert Kimi's attention from the stupidity of his earlier question.

"I like sitting and listening to the men. They keep me up to date about everything."

Ah, Sebastian could see that. Kimi was well liked by all the men. Sebastian believed that the reason had to be Kimi's straightforward attitude and silent but constant presence among them. "Is this the same then? What we are doing..." He playfully wondered, not expecting an actual answer, but Kimi's serious reply caused him to go silent.

"Talking with you is nice." Kimi looked at him, his eyes shining with the truth of his words. "I like it even though it generally ends with me upsetting you somehow."

The admission made Sebastian's eyes go wide. In his frenzy to keep acting normal, he drank the rest of his cup in one go, causing himself to choke on the rough coffee grains and start coughing. He felt Kimi's warm hand patting his back to help him clear his throat and the suddenness of the simple touch increased his coughing fit for a moment.

"Are you alright?" Kimi was concerned, rubbing gentle circles between his shoulder blades. Sebastian both wanted to flee and melt into the comfort of that silky touch at the same time, shocking himself for feeling like this.

Somebody brought them a cup of water and Sebastian drank in large gulps, finally cleaning his windpipe.

"No more coffee for you." Kimi smiled with a bit of mocking in his tone as Sebastian furiously wiped at his mouth and eyes.

"And you wonder how you end up upsetting me somehow..." Sebastian retaliated at Kimi's smug behavior, but it didn't have any bite.

"I am sorry." Kimi apologized and it drew Sebastian's attention back at him. He was about to say something dismissive, but he stopped when he saw the firm and sincere emotion in those shimmering green eyes as if Kimi was apologizing for all the previous times that he had caused Sebastian grief. 

He could only nod with a small _yeah_ coming from his mouth before he hastily turned his attention back at the warm flames. In a corner of his mind, he was amazed at how Kimi could say such embarrassing stuff with such a straight face. But at the same time, he believed that it was one of Kimi's strong points which made him much more real and human than the others.

Sebastian felt his cheeks stretch with a smile and slightly burn with a blush at his own thoughts. But instead of properly acknowledging the reason for it, he consciously chose to feel irritated to bury the unwanted reaction of his body. He stood up quickly, Kimi looking up at him in question. "I... I think I need to sleep now. I am really tired." He announced, taking furtive glances at the other before hurriedly mingling back with their group and saying a hushed goodnight.

Kimi kept sitting there, trying to understand why the other youth had left so abruptly. At least, this time he didn't put that sad expression on Sebastian's face and he chose to deem that as their first normal interaction without any biting words or hidden meanings. Why this made him happy, why he carefully hid his small smile behind his arms as he rested them on his knees, he didn't know. It was stupid and very troublesome actually, the way he sought out the healer's companionship, the way he tried to tread carefully around him. But at times, when those sea blue eyes regarded him with surprise and amazement, he really felt elated and at peace.

He had never felt a connection between himself and another person this quickly and strongly before, but his mind refused to find it odd. He had convinced himself that their pasts as wanderers and their extraordinary abilities linked them in some way. And their love for water... Maybe that was the strongest link, because Kimi had never seen someone else look that way at the waters of that lake or any other water body other than himself and Sebastian. Somebody else would certainly find this weird, but Kimi knew that if he'd talk about this with Sebastian, he would understand him. And that thought alone was enough.

Even though he knew he was being cruel to Sebastian and Pierre by making them walk around with those chains, the idea of Sebastian running away from him before he could even put a name on the urge which had made him buy him that day was inconceivable for him. This bothered him greatly even without Nico's constant reminders about the inequality of what he was doing. Yet for some reason, he knew for certain that Sebastian would be lost to him if he were to remove those chains. Even though what he had been doing to the healer and his friend since day one clearly defied Kimi’s own principles, he couldn't bring himself to act otherwise. He was willingly stomping on his own ideals for Sebastian. It was unhealthy, he knew that, but he firmly stood behind his decision. Those chains were going to remain and he was going to ignore the voice in his head telling him that he was lying to Sebastian deliberately for his own end.

His mood going down the drain with his inner turmoil, he sighed and stood up from before the fire and went to join with his men who were chatting and smoking. He forced himself to listen to their merry banter to suppress the disturbing emotion that his own thoughts had evoked in him. Thankfully, his men quickly offered him a cup of wine, continuing with their stories and jokes, thus keeping Kimi's mind busy.

-

_TBC..._


	8. Chapter 8

The next two days had set their rhythm. They travelled at a nice pace, getting up early before the sunrise and stopping after the sunset to cover more land in the cool air. Everyone shared the duties by a roster designated by Arnall and due to their number, it became evident that Sebastian and Pierre had to work for one day with a two days’ break between each work day. It suited them just fine, because walking under the merciless sun the whole day was already sapping enough of their strength.

Tonight was their fourth night on the road and a workday for both Pierre and Sebastian. Together, they helped unsaddle the load from the animals and then waited for the dinner to cook. They sat side by side and observed the people.

"They are starting to mingle, aren't they?" Pierre murmured in a hushed tone, nibbling on a piece of dried fruit.

Sebastian nodded subtly at that. "But no one approaches us." He complained even though he could guess the reason.

"These chains... Nobody wears them except us. Maybe they think we are vicious and thus they stay away."

"Exactly..." Sebastian agreed again. But their own group knew them and their reason to keep their distance had to be something else. It could have been great if a few people from Kimi's group wanted to get friendlier with them; because then, they could pry some information from the men. 

They weren't aware of how Kimi had ordered them to be secretive, so they really didn't understand the reason for being left alone unless they worked. Sebastian could approach Webber's group with his language advantage, but he didn't have an idea on how wise it would be. He didn't want to stir up trouble when it was the last thing he would need in their situation.

"By the way..." Sebastian changed the subject. "Kimi thinks that we might be from Qenaan."

Pierre looked at his elder with a surprised look. "Why?"

"He asked me where I am from and I evaded the question, so he made a guess." Sebastian shrugged. "If they ask you, say the same."

Knowing their delicate position as people from Kissaara among an armed group of men from Shalbatana, Pierre nodded. "Alright, though I am not very good with their language as you are." He smiled dejectedly.

Sebastian smiled back encouragingly. "You'll manage, Pierre. Just say we are from a village near the capital, since we know that city the best."

Pierre nodded again, his expression slowly turning pensive. "If only we had a way to get rid of these chains..." He murmured, irritated by his own helplessness as he looked at Sebastian's wounded hands and feet.

Sebastian hung his head, equally perturbed. This was troubling him, too. If they were going to escape sooner or later, they needed a solution for this problem. "Kimi has the keys." He sighed, scratching at his neck. "And I don't know any reasonable way to get them other than convincing him that he can unlock us." And both of them knew that the possibility of it was quite slim. So, none of them commented on the matter more as it demoralized them.

Whilst they had been talking, the dinner was made and Pierre went and brought them two bowls of stew. They ate their share in peace and as soon as they found their chance, they went to sleep, because tomorrow was going to be a work day.

The next few days were the same, the only difference was a sand storm that they had experienced in the middle of the day. It caused them to stop and take shelter under cloths, covering themselves and the animals. Thankfully, it hadn't been a severe one and after an hour of listening to the wind howling together with a camel under a bed sheet, Sebastian and the rest of the caravan continued their way.

Even though neither Sebastian nor Pierre understood the reason, at the night of that stormy day, a commotion woke them up from their slumber, though it subsided quickly. It happened among the other Bey's group, thus they did not pry into it, thinking it had to be something unimportant since no one talked about it. But the next day, on their eight one, though Sebastian was assigned a duty, he was called by Arnall. He told Sebastian to take his bag of premade medicine and follow him.

Sebastian went with the silent man, not expecting more explanation, but when he realized that they were walking among the merchants of Qenaan, he couldn't help but ask. "What are we doing among these people?"

Arnall threw him a glance as if telling him to keep silent and Sebastian didn't inquire more after he saw where they were going. Arnall was leading him to the ornate and needlessly spacious tent of the tall Bey, Webber.

"What the hell?" Sebastian swore under his breath, feeling his body tense as if he was going into a war zone. This tent was the last place he'd ever want to enter, but here he was following Kimi's right hand man, willingly entering through the cloth separator.

The inside of the tent was lavishly decorated with beautiful tapestry and was warmly illuminated by ornate oil lamps of fine metal work. There was also a nice dinner spread on the floor with soft and comfortable velvet cushions for the diners, but Sebastian registered none of that.

The moment he entered, the first thing he saw was the pitiful girl who was lying face first on the right side near the entrance, her upper body exposed and her mouth muffled with a piece of cloth. Muffled, because the girl was moaning and crying in pain due to the freshly inflicted, crisscrossed whipping wounds. She was half lucid, her body visibly shaking with her hands and feet bound in chains just like his.

The scene was not as horrifying as what Sebastian had already come across during his earlier travels. He had treated whip scars and wounds many times, maybe more severe than this, and with infections. But for some reason, seeing this girl on the ground, treated like the dirt under the shoes of this man Webber, Sebastian's blood boiled.

He sharply directed his eyes to the people sitting and dining in the tent to find the man responsible for this, but the first person he saw was Kimi even before his eyes fell on Webber.

"Is this the one you were talking about?" The taller Bey asked. There was a hint of playfulness, a smile in his tone.

Kimi nodded, sipping on a small cup as he sat sideways on the right, facing a bit away from Webber.

Webber reclined back on his cushion and with a completely satisfied smirk, he sized Sebastian up from head to toe and snorted. "His face was full of hatred and anger when he entered, but as soon as he saw you, he turned into a clueless puppy."

The comment immediately pulled Sebastian out of his stupor and he turned his eyes away from the annoying man, pointedly looking at nothing in particular. His now emotionless face had to have entertained the Bey, because his chuckle was audible as if he had found Sebastian's reaction funny.

"So, Healer-boy, whatever your name is, Kimi gave me the permission to  _ use you _ tonight. So, heal this girl."

Sebastian's hands shook with the ire he felt towards the smug bastard and at his choice of words, but he couldn't help himself from looking at Kimi for some reason.

The other youth's eyes were on him, too, and there was a look of deep seriousness and grim displeasure in their green grey coldness. Seeing that quiet anger cooled down some of Sebastian's disgust and ire, because it proved to him that Kimi was as upset about this as he was, but was better at hiding it than Srbastian could ever hope to be.

Not waiting for any longer, Sebastian sat down near the poor girl, asking for some water and a clean piece of cloth quickly. To his surprise, nobody moved an inch. Sebastian turned to look at the two servants who were waiting on Webber, but they acted like they were deaf.

"Some clean water and a clean piece of cloth,  _ please _ ." He tersely demanded and this made the Bey openly laugh.

Bewildered by the obnoxious reaction, Sebastian looked on until the crude man collected himself enough to talk.

"Really, Kimi... You and Nico are quite lenient with your slaves. He doesn't even know how to speak." He laughed again when Kimi chose to not answer that and continued drinking. "Well, well... Bring in whatever the Healer-boy wants." He dismissively let his servants help.

Ignoring the piercing hazel eyes set on him, Sebastian turned back to his bag. He rummaged through it, finding a balm he had made for painful skin lacerations like this. He took out some alcohol and a paste to numb the wounded area.

The girl was watching him with a lidded gaze, tears of anguish slowly tumbling down the bridge of her nose. Sebastian put his hand on her forehead and unsurprisingly felt that she was running a fever, dehydrated severely and lost some blood, not given food or drink quite possibly for more than a day. At least, she didn't have an infection even though the wounds looked deep and a day or so old. Sebastian wondered if the commotion of the day before had been because of this girl. Yet whatever she might have done, nobody deserved this kind of punishment, especially in the hands of a man like this.

"Healer-boy~" The Bey drawled mockingly, catching Sebastian's attention. "You make such scary faces. Are you sure you are a healer and not a mercenary for hire?"

"I am a healer, Sir." Sebastian answered, trying to school his face and voice into a neutral look and tone. It was really hard when he wanted to punch that satisfied smirk off of the man's face, but Sebastian managed. He returned to his work just as the things he demanded were brought in.

"How serious and diligent... It is cute."

Sebastian heard Webber's snide comment, but ignored it. He started with the numbing paste. He spread a generous amount of it on the girl's back and the ensuing relief on her pain twisted face was so visible that gradually, her tears stopped and her moans ceased. Sebastian took out the ball of cloth from her mouth and let her breathe freely. Even though he was about to clean the wound with alcohol, he was sure that the girl wasn't going to feel much for the rest of the night.

Sebastian counted ten slashes, some of them deeper than the others. Considering that all of the hits had left bloody marks and broken skin in their wake, a special kind of whip had to have been used. He tried to stop thinking about it and cleaned the back of the girl with water and diluted alcohol. He applied his healing balm and quietly uttered words under his breath which sounded unintelligible to whomever could hear.

"She didn't even make a sound." Webber observed, eating some fruit lazily. "You didn't kill her, did you?" He chuckled.

Sebastian gritted his teeth. The girl was facing him, not the diners, so they couldn't see if she was awake or not. "She is awake, Sir." He manipulated the girl's life force, adding some of his core energy to speed up her healing, murmuring as silently as he could.

"Then how? You used alcohol on her. How could she stay like a statue under that treatment?" The curiosity in Webber's voice was genuine.

Without looking up from his work, Sebastian replied. "I have used a paste to numb her skin."

"Skin numbing, huh? And where did you get that from?"

Sebastian looked into the reddened eyes of the girl who was watching him with an expression as if telling him to not talk more, not humor this man anymore. But ignoring him might make Kimi look weak and undisciplined, so he spoke, divulging as little information as he could. "I prepared it."

"Oh, what a genius we have here!" Webber exaggerated his awe. "Kimi, sell him to me." His voice took on the eagerness of a child. "My useless lot is sick, wounded or always itching to be disciplined like this mongrel of a girl. He'd be very useful for me."

That demand urged Sebastian to look towards Kimi as subtly as he could. His heart was beating with trepidation, a sick feeling crawling up his stomach at the thought of being given to such a worthless man.

Kimi didn't even acknowledge his gaze. He just looked on with humorless eyes at Webber and said a single syllable. "No."

Sebastian became aware that he had been holding his breath as immense relief calmed him down.

Webber laughed at Kimi's ready answer. "C'mon~" He drawled again. "Healer-boy is vicious, right? I'd save you from a burden by buying him off of you."

"He is not vicious." Kimi's tone and attitude were icy cold, but the other male didn't even seem like he was registering it.

"Really now? Then why is he the only slave with chains and shackles on his hands and feet?"

The question made Sebastian stop, too, causing him to wait in bated breath for Kimi's answer. Sebastian wasn't aware but his face was full of expectation, it was evident that he hoped Kimi to say something reasonable and not heartbreaking.

Kimi turned his eyes at him with an unreadable expression. "You have to ask that to Nico. He belongs to him."

Well, that was not what Sebastian hoped to hear, but it was acceptable enough, considering that it was the truth. He hung his head in disappointment and finished dressing the girl's wounds, leaving them open. He helped her drink a bit of water and tied her long brown hair to prevent it from sticking to the wounds.

"Don't try to fool me, Kimi. Nico has that high and detached attitude but is a softie. Look at those wounds on that unlucky sod's hands and feet. He doesn't even have an ownership tattoo, but his clothes are all nice and he is clean. Has he been gifted to you?"

The question turned Sebastian's blood ice cold in his veins as he wanted to learn the same thing. He couldn't move from his spot even though he had already finished his task, wanting desperately to hear what Kimi would say. But infuriatingly enough, Kimi kept his calm even though all the eyes in the tent were on him. The only indicator of his displeasure was the sharp way he put his wine cup back onto the low table before him.

"He is not a gift or any other thing that you assume. He is a healer, that's all there is to it."

"Oh, then why can't he heal his own wounds?" Webber was annoyingly clever and observant.

Sebastian saw how Kimi resisted twisting his face into a harsher murderous expression than what was already etched onto it.

"That's his decision." He spoke lowly and sinisterly, giving Webber a long and withering glare.

Webber observed Kimi for a moment, serious. Then his face broke into a sleazy grin, shrugging. "I see. It is still as hard as ever to pry a couple of words from you when you don't want to talk."

Kimi tersely turned his head away, openly showing his annoyance.

Sebastian felt anger, disappointment and a feeling of being let down fill him. He cleared his throat, wanting to leave quickly.

"Ah, Healer-boy. It seems you have finished." Webber smiled at him, playing with the thin braids of his hair as he half sat half reclined on his cushions.

"Yes, Sir." Sebastian arranged the poor girl into a more comfortable position and put the rest of the clean fabric over her back to keep it safe from sand and any possible bugs that might be attracted by the smell of blood. "She will be okay in a few days if she is left alone and her wounds are not agitated. If she would be given something to eat and drink, it would be the best." He advised.

"Do as he says." Webber ordered his servants.

"This balm should be applied to the wounds and her back shouldn't be bandaged." Sebastian put the jar of thick liquid in front of him. But Webber waved his hand. "Kimi, let him come and finish his job tomorrow and the day after, would you?"

Sebastian prayed that Kimi would say no, but the dour guy only nodded his head.

"Arnall will take care of that."

Sebastian swore internally and got up, giving one last look at the abused girl. She blinked at him as if in thanks and without saying anything, Sebastian took his bag and left the tent in a turmoil of emotions. He knew that he wasn't going to get a good night's sleep tonight with so many questions swirling in his head.

He told Pierre about why he had been called and what happened at Webber's tent so that he could relieve his mind a bit.

"Then, there has to be a reason for us to carry these chains instead of being branded like the other slaves." Pierre whispered, completely burrowed under his blanket as he sat beside Sebastian. They were speaking in hushed tones and weren't moving much, because nearly all of the camp was asleep except for the guards and some men who preferred the cooler hours for smoking and drinking.

"Webber said Nico is a gentle person and implied that he wouldn't let me walk around in chains and with wounds, but here we are the only slaves with them." Sebastian grunted.

"But you heal my wounds whenever they appear."

"Webber doesn't know that." Sebastian sighed. "He mocked me about them, but I guess it is understandable. You don't see many healers around who supposedly can't heal his or her own wounds, right?"

"I agree that it looks quite suspicious, but did you have a chance to inspect the brand of ownership on the other slaves?"

Sebastian nodded. "When I checked Nico's men, I got a closer look at them. They were made with some permanent ink from the roots of a few herbs mixed together. I guess the ink is injected with small needles. None of them looked like they were made by burning the skin with hot brands."

"Thankfully..." Pierre cringed at the idea of it even though he knew that it was a common practice to brand the slaves with hot rods just like they did to the cattle. "It doesn't matter. You healed Kimi so quickly and now they probably think you can erase any and all kinds of marks that can be made by worldly means."

Pierre's logic was so true that it hurt. "I admit it was a colossal mistake to heal that fractured collarbone within two days and thus giving them the reason to think so of me. But Pierre, I really didn't want to prolong that treatment. His skin burns me. It literally gave me blisters on that night when I finished healing him. How can someone like him stay alive without boiling in his own blood, I don't know."

Pierre had nothing to say to that even though what Sebastian had done probably had caused Nico to think that they were better off with chains than tattoos or brands that could be easily erased by Sebastian. But something bothered him. "I will create a chance and touch him." He decided.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at that.

"He burns and numbs you, right? Then let's see if he does the same to me, too."

Sebastian felt a bit outdone by Pierre's idea, smiling. Now that he thought about it, he had never seen Kimi touching someone else for him to judge if the other person gave the same reaction to his touch as Sebastian did. 

He became curious about the outcome of Pierre's plan, because really, he didn't believe that he could be the only person who ended up with burns and an irresistible numbness at the wake of Kimi's touch. And what was more baffling was the fact that Kimi seemed to be not aware of the effect of his touch on the people. Was he acting or was the ignorance genuine, Sebastian did not know. Kimi wasn't one of those people who'd purposefully hurt someone for the hell of it, so it was quite likely that he was unaware of what he was doing. But how could someone like him exist? Though, due to his own disposition, Sebastian knew that any and all kinds of oddity could exist in their world, he had no idea what Kimi's secret could be. 

The other's body temperature fluctuated between normal and boiling hot on different days. Due to what, Sebastian didn't have a guess, either. But when Kimi's skin was hot enough to give someone blisters, how could he function just as normally as before, that was the mystery.

Then again, that numbness and the invasive quality of it might be the most frightening thing about it. It sapped Sebastian's energy to move, it even drained him of the will to move. Thankfully, Sebastian didn't experience the feeling more than two times.

Was this what the Arank of Nefer had warned him about? It possibly was, but Sebastian was at a loss of reasons and explanations. Should he feel concerned or threatened, he didn't know, either. And frankly speaking, as long as he bore these chains, nothing was more important than getting rid of them, than to reclaim his freedom. Now that Webber reminded him of all those disturbing questions yet again, Sebastian had a few things to tell Kimi for subjecting him to tonight's disturbing dinner attraction.

With that thought in mind, he bid Pierre goodnight and tried to get some sleep, cursing his luck for being forced to return to the tent tomorrow and the next day again. He just hoped that Webber would get bored of watching the girl's pain and relocate her to some other tent by tomorrow night. He really didn't want to see that man's face again this soon.

* * *

The next day, Pierre tried to approach Kimi as they walked under the sun, but he was surrounded with his men, quietly talking about what seemed like a serious matter. Pierre couldn't get the subject of their talk, but it wasn't very important. What his immediate concern was to find a way for him to touch Kimi without creating suspicion.

He got his chance in the evening. While he was grooming the horses of their group, he found Kimi tending to his own horse, seemingly at a loss of what to do about something. Pierre came closer and instantly realized what the problem was, but he kept silent about it.

Kimi saw him approaching and there was relief in his eyes when he started talking. "He has a problem with his hind leg." He gently caressed the limb in question and the horse made a small sound, his muscles visibly quivering.

Pierre told him that he was going to look at it, but before that, he hugged the head of the big black horse and calmed the animal down with caresses and scratches. He whispered something to the horse, all the while checking if Kimi was watching him, but the other man was combing the horse's side, lost in thought.

The great animal made a harrumphing sound and Pierre walked towards Kimi who was standing close to the leg he had mentioned. But just then, the horse made a sudden move and violently neighed, tossing his head backwards to Pierre as if he wanted to push him away, thus making him lose his balance. Expecting this, Pierre simply went along with it, free falling towards Kimi who was directly before him. Thankfully, things went as he had hoped and Kimi caught him with one hand on his upper arm and the other on his wrist.

"Careful... Are you okay?" 

He heard Kimi's voice close, but the sole thing that registered in his mind was the two spots where Kimi's hands touched his skin and how it felt surprisingly normal, unlike what he had been anticipating. He could only stare at his own wrist as Kimi let him stand properly and asked again. 

"Did you hurt somewhere?"

Pierre looked up at Kimi who was needlessly caressing the horse to calm him down. "No, I… I am fine... Thank you, Sir." He stammered in fake surprise and then sheepishly smiled. "I will immediately help him. It doesn't seem very serious." He explained, petting the hurt leg.

Kimi eyed him as if he had a question in his mind and Pierre had a hard time in keeping eye contact. But eventually Kimi nodded and picked up the comb that he had dropped when he'd saved the teen and gave it to him. "Please do everything you can. I prize him very much." He told Pierre and watched him hastily start massaging the animal's leg. 

After a few minutes, Kimi left and Pierre took a relaxed breath. All he could currently think was what it meant for Sebastian if he was the only one who got burned and numbed by Kimi's touch.

He knew that Kimi had a core of fire and wondered if Sebastian's core of water, which was in its one of a kind elemental form, repelled it. But Pierre had a core of water, too, even though nothing was special about it. He wondered whether the Arank of Nefer was talking about this as Kimi's latent power. A power which somehow only seemed to be affecting Sebastian...

Even though witnessing something like that was slim, Pierre decided that he was going to keep an eye on Kimi and see what would happen when he'd touch someone else. Because he really didn't want to believe that they were in the hands of someone potentially dangerous, someone who could hurt Sebastian immensely whether Kimi was aware of it or not.

It terrified Pierre, because Kimi always seemed to seek out Sebastian, watching his every move and Sebastian was letting him in inch by inch. He followed him wherever Kimi asked him to come, he couldn't say no to him, he looked sad because of him and Pierre was certain that Kimi had caused Sebastian to cry, but also had the power to make him smile. 

He knew he had no right to, but that night in the store house, he had listened in on Kimi and Sebastian in the front garden.

It seemed that Sebastian was drawn to the other youth, which explained his dangerous leniency with him. Kimi was looking at him with awe and concern shimmering in his eyes, turning that icy look into a soft green whenever he gazed upon Sebastian. 

Pierre wondered if Sebastian was aware of this, but he doubted that, because Kimi was quick to turn his head away or squash that emotion down when Sebastian looked back at him.

He hoped that Sebastian would realize this soon and not let this get out of hand, because in the eyes of these people, they were simply slaves and Sebastian neither had the luxury nor had the time to linger here like this. They had to get away as soon as possible. But for now, to not cause panic in Sebastian, Pierre deemed that keeping silent about this was for the best. Sebastian was already as troubled as it could get.

* * *

While Pierre was away to after Kimi's horse, Arnall came and told Sebastian to get going to treat the slave girl. 

His mood quite sour, Sebastian followed after the older man with his bag and murmured a curse when he realized that they were going back to the Bey's tent. He couldn't help but wonder if Kimi was inside, too, but his fleeting curiosity died when Arnall didn't follow him inside, opting to wait for him in front of the tent.

Sebastian resisted grimacing and cursing his luck as he stood in the entrance, his eyes landing on the Bey who was reclining on the cushions with a young man of Sebastian's age. The boy was feeding him from the dinner tray before them.

"There you are, Healer-boy!" Webber greeted him, his dark eyes inspecting him from head to toe.

The hungry gaze was disturbing, so Sebastian averted his eyes as he greeted him back perfunctorily. He walked towards the girl who was lying on the ground again, chains and all. At least, today she looked a bit better. Her complexion was a bit healthier, her eyes more alert unlike how delirious she had seemed yesterday. He sat down near her and asked for hot water and clean pieces of cloth again.

"You don't waste time, do you?" Webber scoffed mockingly. He successfully drew Sebastian's attention to himself.

Sebastian contemplated if he should speak as a servant went out to fetch the things he had asked for. "I am only doing what is required of me." He eyed the Bey who looked like a big lazy cat as the slave boy fed him fruit pieces. The man petted the boy in return at wherever his hand reached on the boy's body. 

Sebastian wasn't up to watching the display of mock intimacy, so he busied himself with checking up on the girl's back, gently peeling the cloth that he had covered her with yesterday.

The wounds looked on their way of healing, no longer inflamed. He touched her forehead, finding that she no longer ran a fever. It seemed like she had been given something to eat and drink, too. Now she had to be strong enough to sit if she was let to do so, but he guessed that Webber wanted her to grovel on the ground like this even when she could manage to get up. He wondered how she traveled with the rest during the daylight hours. Her black eyes were alive and whatever she had done to receive this punishment, Sebastian was certain that she was going to try it again.

The water and the fabric pieces were brought in and Sebastian carefully cleaned the damaged skin, causing the girl to flinch occasionally, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"What did you do yesterday?" Webber asked, sitting in a more proper way, observing the girl's reactions.

Sebastian looked up with incomprehension in his eyes.

The Bey chuckled at his expression. "You have done something to speed up her healing, haven't you? Those wounds could never close that quickly otherwise."

Sebastian tried to hide his surprise upon the man's sharp observation, his face a mask of neutrality. "I just cleaned her skin and applied some balm to the wounds, that's all." He explained. "The lacerations weren't deep, so it is normal for the healing to progress like this."

His last remark angered the Bey, his dark eyes shining in serpentine coldness. "They weren't deep, huh?" He hissed and in a quick movement, he took out something with a flourish of his arm.

Sebastian realized that the ensuing sharp sound belonged to the man's whip which hit provokingly close to where he was sitting, stopping just a few inches away.

"Now look at that and tell me the wounds weren't deep." Webber threateningly ordered.

Sebastian did not move an inch, his eyes on the whip, his breathing shallow with rage. But he miraculously desisted from showing any hints of negative emotion on his face, just the serious matter-of-factness of what he observed. 

The whip was wrought with something that spiraled around the twisted leather. It looked shiny as if it was a thin metal cord, but Sebastian could see the miniscule sharp thorn-like protrusions on it. That certainly looked painful and Sebastian felt sick to the stomach for knowing that this man had used something like this on a human being.

"It looks shiny." He mocked with all the sobriety that he could muster, knowing full well that his remark was going to irk the vile man more.

The Bey glared at him with indignant anger at first, but then his tanned face broke into a predatory and sadistic smile at Sebastian's daring words. Even though it was bone chilling to witness, Sebastian wasn't intimidated by it which had to have fueled the man's enjoyment more.

"You have never been beaten up before, have you?" Webber asked, his voice dripping with eagerness, for what, Sebastian had quite a good guess.

"I have been in fights many times." He answered coldly, returning to his task of cleaning the wounds.

"No, no, silly boy..." Webber chuckled again, pulling his slave boy onto his lap, making him lie on his stomach upon his knees.

Sebastian's eyebrow twitched at the sight as the man started to caress the boy's back from the shoulders to his bottom. "I meant Kimi... He has never punished you, right?"

Sebastian couldn't help but stop in his work, his eyes widening at the sick insinuation. "He doesn't own me." His reply was quick and a bit heated. It caused the man to laugh at him wholeheartedly.

"Such a privileged little gem you are!" Webber chortled between his laughs as he continued petting the slave boy. "Does he treat you well then?"

Sebastian turned his eyes away. Utterly unsettled by the man and his words, he quickly untapped his healing balm and started applying it on the girl. His haste and unintended harsh treatment caused her to flinch and moan against her muffler in pain.

"Hey, hey! You are hurting my dear Jamie, Healer-boy." Webber berated him with a playful voice and Sebastian bit on his bottom lip, angry at himself for losing control like that. He took a deep breath and looked at the girl's, Jamie's, eyes and when she nodded, he went on.

"Why the silent treatment, boy?" Webber provoked him again. "Why do you get so flustered upon my questions? Is it really hard to tell me if Kimi cherishes you or not?"

"Why does it concern you?" Sebastian couldn't stop himself from asking, his anger getting the better of him.

The Bey eyed him as if he was contemplating on a secret that only he was privy of. "He might not be your owner on paper, but to me you already seem to be taken by him."

Sebastian tried to wrap his mind around the double meaning that the man intended. "Taken?" He spat the word. "Taken, as in?"

Webber enjoyed Sebastian's confused irritation immensely. "Taken, boy... I meant all its meanings. I think you are literate enough to get that much, huh?"

Trying to keep himself from attacking the man, Sebastian felt all his muscles go taut and hurt with the effort that he exerted. "I am a healer, not what you readily assume."

"Then, there has to be something special about you. That's why they are keeping you in chains. You are an insolent brat with a short temper and a lousy mouth, but since there is no mark of punishment on you, I can safely assume you are no ordinary slave for Kimi and Nico." Webber grinned knowingly. "How many gold pieces did they spend on you? You sure can heal and look after the ill. I am impressed by your skill, but is that the only thing you do for them? Maybe you are quite skilled in bed, too, hmm?"

Sebastian was trembling with a mix of rage and sickness, his face pale and his brows furrowed. He seriously wanted to lash out at the man who was watching him with a satisfied smirk, but he came to himself with the small touch he felt on his knee. He tore his gaze from Webber's poisonous eyes and looked down to find the girl tapping at his knee with her fingers as discreetly as possible. 

Jamie's black eyes told him to keep his cool, told him to bear with it and not lose himself. Strangely enough, Sebastian took courage from the girl and nodded at her.

He finished spreading the balm on her skin and helped her drink a bit of water, not putting the muffler back in her mouth. A small smile appeared on her face as a thanks and he nodded again.

"Why don't you ask these questions to Kimi Bey, Sir? He'd be happy to discuss his private life with you, I am sure." He replied, congratulating himself for causing the other's face to twist into a mix of disappointment, disdain and hatred.

"You'd suffer for having such a mouth on you if you were mine, Healer-boy." Webber hissed and spanked the slave on his buttocks, pushing him down.

Sebastian quickly covered Jamie and adjusted her hair and clothes so nothing touched her back. Then, he stood up. He wasn't willing to stay any longer and watch the disturbed man playfully punish the slave boy. As he went out, he resisted the urge to retort what was on the tip of his tongue, that he didn't belong to anyone, that he was his own man. Because people like this did not deserve to hear more from him.

Outside, he waved off Arnall with a dismissive hand, angry at him for leaving him alone with Webber. He went on his way to grab something to eat and try to shake off the horrible feeling that had been forced onto him by the Bey. 

He decided not to talk about this to Pierre, considering that he wasn't going to get near Webber again after tomorrow's dressing of Jamie's wounds. But try as he might, he couldn't get rid of the uneasy feeling that coiled in him because of the assumptions that the twisted Bey had.

He wandered around the camp for a while and his eyes met Kimi's among the crowd, but he turned away, not wanting the company of the other youth now. In fact, Kimi was the last person he wanted to see after what Webber had asked him. 

He was also troubled about how Webber seemed to know more than Sebastian did. He was aware of the secrecy around Kimi; that some information was withheld from them on purpose, but Webber's remarks and behavior were more than abrasive. It nearly suggested that Kimi was going out of his way in dealing with him. Webber had said that Nico was a kind person, but he'd never seemed to actually care about what was going on with him and Pierre. So, that only left Kimi who, in Webber's assumption, was giving Sebastian privileges and treating him unlike how he'd do to other slaves of theirs.

As he silently mulled over the subject, he didn't realize that someone had approached him from behind. 

"Hey…" Kimi waved a hand in front of his face and that crudely took Sebastian out of his trance-like musings.

With a sinking feeling, he realized that he had to have caught Kimi's interest by his earlier run away attitude. 

"You look pale. Everything alright?" Kimi asked him, keeping up with his nervous pace. 

Sebastian slowed down when he realized he was this close to actually running and took a furtive glance at the worried expression of the other youth. "I'm… I'm alright." He finally stopped and took in a huge breath. He should have acted normal and not cause Kimi to worry, because the other youth could always pick up his moods quickly.

"You don't look alright, Sebastian… Maybe… Maybe I can help?" Kimi offered, genuinely concerned and very willing to be of some help to the other. 

Sebastian looked at him, searching his eyes. He couldn't deny the fact that Kimi had always tried to be considerate of him, but to what end, for what reason? "Why do you want to help me?" He blurted the question before he could stop himself. 

Kimi blinked at him in incomprehension for a second there. "I… I just want to…" He awkwardly tried to explain, feeling shy all of a sudden.

Kimi had nothing to gain out of this other than the grief Sebastian was admittedly giving him back. "But why?" He insisted. "Why are you kind to me, why are you looking out for me? If you don't expect anything in return, then why?"

Kimi's eyes widened comically at first, completely at a loss of words as his bewildered gaze turned forlorn and wistful. "Because it makes me happy…" Was all he was able to say and Sebastian could see the rising colour on the other's face, his heart picking up speed at it. 

What did it all mean, Sebastian didn't know, but this swelling emotion in his chest told him that Webber was the man with ulterior motives, not Kimi.

Heat was flooding Kimi and he felt his face burn, but he valiantly ignored it. "Webber has a nasty personality, Sebastian. Don't mind his words." He both warned the other youth and diverted his attention. "This is about him, right?"

Sebastian looked back at him with wide eyes, surprised to be read like an open book again by Kimi. "He… He is such a difficult person…" He tried to calm his heart down and find the courage to hold Kimi's sincere eyes. 

"He loves playing mind games… I am sorry, I never wanted you to meet him, but that girl needed help and I just couldn't stand him entertaining himself with her misery…" Kimi quickly explained, now seeing how distressed Sebastian had been because of the situation.

Sebastian's eyes were filled with wonder and relief upon hearing Kimi's reasoning. Kimi had been as uncomfortable as Sebastian had been that night, he had seen it. Finding out that Kimi had called for him yesterday to end the slave girl's pain, and thus remove the reason of Webber's entertainment caused his chest to swell with emotion.

His grateful expression melted Kimi's heart, too. But he could only look on at him with that same forlorn expression. "Should have told you this sooner…" He lamented. "I am sure it had been a nasty scene to stumble upon." 

Sebastian could see the unspoken apology on the other's face and felt that it was enough. "I am glad I got to help her." He assured him. 

Kimi had wanted to do good, yet by doing so, he had inadvertently put Sebastian in the spotlight. It was clear that Webber tried to flirt with everything on two legs and unfortunately he seemed to have chosen Sebastian as his new target. Intimidation and lies never worked on Sebastian, so he counted himself safe against the lecherous man's intentions, but it didn't mean that he wasn't distressed by what the older man insinuated with everything he had said and done. 

"How could you be acquaintances with a man like that?" He asked even though he knew his question might sound out of line.

Kimi took a deep and silent breath, wondering what the hell the other man had told or shown Sebastian to shake him this way. "Caravans that are made up of different fractions are safer than a single unit. More intelligence gathering, more connections, more hands and eyes everywhere…" He tried to explain, his displeasure apparent. "I am not a fan of his disturbing antics, but…" He shrugged in a helpless manner. "Business is business…"

Sebastian bit on his lip in thought, his eyes taking in the other youth's apologetic expression. The way Kimi seemed to be hoping him to understand was endearing and mellowed his mood. Of course, he understood the reasons relating to business and trade, but he really wished that the likes of Webber wouldn't have been a part of this caravan and wasn't able to read this well into his heart and thoughts.

"That man is highly observant and loves using what he can pick up to rile other people for his own amusement. Don't listen to him and don't react to his jibes." Kimi suggested.

Sebastian nodded, only now realizing why Kimi had been so tight-lipped and as stoic as he could manage to be last night. Kimi knew that bastard's habits.

He sighed and his shoulders sagged a bit, because he had already given the other Bey ample opportunity to use against him. Not that Sebastian was going to complain about it to Kimi. He was sure that he could handle Webber's behavior and words by himself. But truthfully speaking, he hoped to never see the man again. 

"I interrupted your work…" He mumbled, suddenly feeling a bit awkward and silly for letting the other man get under his skin like that. 

Kimi shrugged again, this time a small smile was playing on his lips and Sebastian could only look at him, remembering his earlier shyness and pleading eyes. He felt his chest tighten.

"It was nothing. Not more important than…" Kimi stopped himself from saying the rest when he realized what was about to come out of his mouth, but those expectant blue eyes tricked him and he continued. "Not more important than learning the reason of your distress..." 

His breath hitching in his throat at the admission, Sebastian didn't know what to do with himself other than averting his eyes and trying to still his racing heart. He couldn't help but smile a bit at the other youth, not aware how fondly Kimi was watching his reaction. 

"Thank you…" He whispered softly, scratching at his nape, nervous. He was no longer able to deal with the giddiness in his stomach, so he chose to run away for real this time. He pushed away the disturbing questions that Webber had planted in his mind for the time being, realizing that talking to Kimi actually had not been so bad after all. Absolutely way better than having to listen to that Bey's poisonous words.

He dreaded going back to that tent tomorrow, but if that slave girl, Jamie, was going to be spared and be safe from now on, then that was also a form of consolation for Sebastian to endure the Bey's treatment. With that thought and the good mood Kimi had instilled in him, he found some peace of mind. But it proved to be fleeting the next day.

Arnall came to fetch him again, as if his company was of any use for Sebastian, and just as Sebastian expected, he brought him back to that accursed tent, leaving him alone. Really now... Sebastian could have found the way by himself, too. What was the use of having Arnall around if he wasn't going to be wherever Sebastian was. Arnall's intimidating presence would certainly deter Webber from croaking whatever poisonous thing that would come to his mind and save Sebastian from a potential headache. But he'd rather die than telling his guardian this and make him think that he was weak.

Nevertheless, he entered the tent with the blankest expression he could muster and greeted the Bey without actually looking at him. Not wasting any time, he approached Jamie who was sitting on the ground. 

She was naked waist up, yet acted as if she wasn't even aware of her nudity. Sebastian wondered if she was always ordered to walk around like this for her to not be bothered by her own state of undress among so many men. This was truly sick. Sebastian internally swore at the man and cursed his perverseness.

Webber was smoking this time, alone. There was only a guard present in the tent and other than him, Sebastian was the only outsider and his greeting was taken with a simple  _ hmmm _ . Sebastian did not mind and sat down. Jamie turned her back to him; thus, both of them were now facing Webber. 

It was as if they were going to perform a show for Webber's entertainment, making Sebastian question if the older man enjoyed the display and actually did not give a damn about whether the girl he wounded got better or not. That was probably the case, because whenever Sebastian's eyes strayed towards Webber, he saw that they were being observed with a half sadistic, half condescending look in the man's dark eyes.

Surprisingly, as soon as Sebastian sat down and prepared Jamie to treat the wounds, someone came in and brought hot water and clean bandages even before he'd asked for them. Trying to ignore the chilling gaze of the Bey, Sebastian quickly got on with his work, cleaning the girl's back with diluted alcohol.

Today, the wounds were all better, clean and closed with thin scabs which Sebastian avoided while disinfecting the skin. She wasn't flinching anymore and she looked quite strong now as she sat there silently with her back straight.

"Oh... Look, how she closes her eyes in bliss!"

Sebastian's head snapped at Webber's direction upon the comment. It was in Quenaani and it also made Jamie's shoulders tense. He saw the beginnings of her agitation from the corner of his sight, but he couldn't turn his eyes away from the smirking man.

"You can't see her face from there, Healer-boy, but just a moment ago she had the most euphoric expression I've ever seen on her face." He giggled like a child and puffed out a cloud of smoke. "Say, Jamie, you have never made that face even when I fuck you senseless. What is so good about this slave's hands, hmm?"

That crass comment made Sebastian look away in disgust. Try as he might, he couldn't completely suppress the emotion from showing on his face and that made Webber laugh at him heartily. 

"Healer-boy..." Webber intoned in that creepily sweet tone of his. "She seems to have taken a liking to you. What do you say about that?"

Remembering Kimi's words, Sebastian refused to grace the foul man's question with an answer and went on with his work, taking out the healing balm from his bag. He told himself that it didn't matter when Jamie hung her head upon her master's words as if she was guilty.

"Now that's quite the cruel treatment, boy. The girl would really like to hear your answer." Webber chuckled, completely relaxed as he smoked and taunted them.

What would be the best approach here, Sebastian didn't have an idea. He didn't want to talk, but he also didn't want to anger the sadistic man and cause an incident. And somehow Jamie's body language told him that she was really upset and humiliated by what Webber had been telling about her. Or was she afraid that Webber was going to punish her for this?

"I am honored by the lady's interest." He muttered, not looking back at the man who began laughing at him loudly. Instead, he started to apply the balm carefully on Jamie. Seeing how his comment visibly relaxed her, he realized that he had said the right thing.

Webber was close to tears. "Boy, that girl is a slave. She has been this way since she was ten. And you call her a lady? Oh, how peculiar you are!" He laughed some more, choking on his smoke a bit. "Jamie, my girl, you are one lucky bitch. If only Kimi would lend him to us for a night, I would have let him fuck you, dear."

Sebastian bit on his bottom lip hard. It was a miracle how he stayed put after hearing that, but he managed. Yet just as he was thinking that this man couldn't get any more sickening than he already was, Webber spewed another perverse idea of his.

"Healer-boy is said to have cost a hundred gold pieces. Imagine how much the kids born from the both of you two could fetch."

This was the last straw. Sebastian closed his eyes, his face twisting into a show of anger, hatred and disgust. His body was so taut that in only one move he could leap to his feet and kick the Bey.

"Stop that." He hissed, turning his flame ridden eyes at the man, baring his teeth.

Webber actually stopped in his chuckling and regarded Sebastian carefully with narrowed down eyes. "What did you say, you brat?" He asked in a controlled, sinister voice.

Sebastian did not budge, did not care anymore, heat engulfing his body. "I said shut up,  _ Sir _ ." He bit, challenge and bravado surrounding him. "Taunting the slaves is easy when no one is around. Run your mouth like this before Kimi Bey and get your answer from him." He dared.

Webber's reaction was faster than the eye, but Sebastian was fast, too. A sharp crackling sound filled the tent as the shiny whip coiled around Sebastian's left arm from wrist up, cutting into the skin and making him bleed.

"Opps… I had aimed at her." Webber smirked sleazily, lying and completely pleased with what he had done.

"I have  _ just _ healed her." Sebastian snarled and shook off the leather menace without even sparing a glance at the condition of his arm.

"You think I won't beat her again? Watching you gently patch her up was quite enjoyable."

Jamie was slightly trembling before Sebastian and he couldn't take the sight of her distress. "You do that and then explain what you have done to my arm to Kimi Bey." Sebastian threatened, hoping against hope that if the push came to the shove Kimi would side with him.

Webber barked a laugh. "Do I look like I give a damn about her?" He blew a huge amount of smoke towards Sebastian, clearly meaning every word he'd said. "You think Kimi would give a damn about what happens to your arms or hands? Boy, slaves don't need their hands or feet as long as they have legs to open up or mouths to please their masters with." He jeered degradingly.

Sebastian was about to throw up in contempt at Webber’s reasoning. Thankfully, he knew that Kimi would actually give a damn.

_ I would care, Sebastian. If you were to lose these hands, I would feel like I've lost my own. _

"I dare you to do it and face the consequences for yourself." 

Sebastian was so sure of himself with a taunting smirk on his face that his confidence irked Webber at first. But then the older man's irritation melted away from his face and filled with his usual arrogance.

"Being so sure of Kimi's reaction, you must be confident of your influence on him, hmm?" He observed, but this was a statement, not a question. "There has to be a reason why he is so lenient with you."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed down, his smirk fading.

"Are you that good in bed? Do you service him fine that he became addicted to you?"

Colour rose on Sebastian's cheeks and he gnashed his teeth in rage. "I am a healer. I  _ do not _ serve otherwise. I  _ do not _ belong to anyone." He spat each sentence viciously.

"Oh, really now?" Webber mocked, closing a hand on his mouth as if he'd been a mischievous child. "Then are you kept in chains because you resist him and he can only handle you by those as he fucks you? Must be such a terrible feeling, because you seem to be so taken by him. Oh, cruel, cruel fate..."

For a moment, Sebastian thought that his chest was going to explode with all the pent up humiliation and frustration that he'd been suffering. The image that Webber had put in his mind corroded something in him into a hot mix of shame, hopelessness and self-hatred. Even though he wanted to kill the guy right at where he sat, he knew that he couldn't do it. Instead, he finished his work with Jamie and carefully covered her back and nakedness with the largest piece of fabric available and got up.

"I finished my work here." He announced, taking his bag and turning to leave.

"If it is as you say..." Webber nonchalantly continued to smoke, as if he was talking to himself. "Why do you act so flustered whenever I mention you and Kimi together?"

Sebastian's whole body tensed at the correctness of the observation.

"Could it be that I am actually damn right and you get this way because you have a thing for him?" Here, he began to chuckle, entertained by what he had said. "Like an attraction or a crush or maybe even love?"

Upon hearing that, Sebastian lost even the enough presence of mind to ask why Webber cared, what the hell he wanted with him. All he could do was to snarl an animalistic "Die in a ditch, you bastard." and practically run away from the tent with a burning face, eyes ablaze with fury and bone deep hatred.

When he emerged from the tent, his haunted look alerted Arnall who had been waiting for him to come out. But the guardian decided to not approach him, because Sebastian looked greatly disturbed, sick and at a loss of himself. Arnall didn't have a clue as to what could have shaken Sebastian like this, but he guessed that Webber or his people had to have something to do with this. He didn't pursue Sebastian and let him be, going back to his work.

Sebastian sat behind the nearest tent that he came across, hiding. He didn't know what he was hiding from, but he felt the need to just disappear and be alone. He gazed around himself unseeingly, his mind racing. Anger and frustration drained from him and left only the burnt adrenaline, fear and a sudden bout of insecurity that stemmed from not understanding what he felt.

He was scared because even though he consciously tried to deny it, it was true that he got flustered at the mention of Kimi. It was true that instead of staying in that tent and proving that there really wasn't anything going on between them like Webber assumed, he had practically run away, accepting everything the manipulative man had claimed. And that image the cruel bastard had planted in his head about Kimi doing  _ that _ to him... He was afraid, because it had hurt him instead of repulsing him. There had to be something wrong with him, because the first thing that should have come to his mind should have been his enslavement. And that he was a human being with a mind and heart just like everyone else, just like the others who saw the right to call themselves the masters of others... But instead, the first thing that came to his mind was how Kimi would never do that to him, how even though the other youth seemed insensitive and indifferent at first glance, he was never vulgar or cruel enough to do something like that to anyone.

Where was this trust coming from? When did he get so confident in the character of his enslavers? Why the idea of being used like that by Kimi, solely because it was Kimi, broke something in him and made him cold to the core? He should have felt enraged, right? He should curse and swear at his circumstances, but he didn't even have the energy or will to do that. Webber's humiliating observations had sapped the will out of him, leaving only the doubt and self-hatred in its wake.

An attraction, a crush? He snorted, but it was half-hearted. Love? That was the most ridiculous thing he'd heard in a while. Yet he was feeling so exposed, so vulnerable now, ready to snap at anything and anyone if only it could make him forget about the maddening thoughts that invaded his mind.

He didn't want to think; the emotion was foreign to him and made him feel awful. He sighed, one hand carding through his hair. Only then he realized how injured his arm was. The part between his wrist and elbow was all bloody and the laceration coiled around his skin as a reminder of the metal infused whip. It smarted quite a lot and he concentrated on the pain. Surprisingly, it distracted him and he decided to leave the wound like that. He'd wrap a piece of fabric around it and let it heal naturally. He didn't expect it, but if Webber would dare to torture Jamie again, he really was going to show this wound to Kimi.

The idea made him smile at himself with self-deprecation. Wasn't this also another reminder that he really was depending on and trusting Kimi even though he was just a slave for him. He felt sick with himself and the subsequent stomachache fueled his bitterness and rebuilt his defenses against the unsuspecting youth, even though deep inside Sebastian knew that the only person that he could blame for feeling this way was himself, not Kimi.

He buried his head into his arms and sat there like that until the time he knew Pierre would start to get worried for him. He returned to their side of the camp quite late into the night and after sharing a look with his friend, he just went to his bed, forgoing the cold dinner that the teen had gotten for him.

He didn't even get a wink of sleep that night.

-

_ TBC... _


	9. Chapter 9

On the second night of Kimi’s departure, Nico was sitting in the stone garden of the store house, listening to the nocturnal noises of Nefer. His hookah and tea beside him, he was going over the letter he had just written.

It was a short letter about Sebastian, not divulging into some details, even though Nico knew that the recipient could have benefited from learning them. He tried to be as precise as possible. He signed it and stamped the bottom of the page. To be discreet, he even sealed it with wax. Together with one of the daggers, he entrusted the letter to one of his men who had been waiting for Nico to finish his work.

Nico watched the man leave, knowing that before the sunrise their messenger would be close to the borders of Shalbatana. He had a pretty good idea about how many days it would take for it to reach its recipient, Lando. He hoped that his young friend would send him a response as quickly as possible.

Sebastian had a soft and handsome look one could recall easily and his talent was making him hard to forget for anyone who had the chance to be treated by him. Nico was sure that if Lando could find a lead on the healer, he would certainly find out who Sebastian actually was. 

The dagger would prove to be useful, too. Nico’s own family were renowned smiths and he was sure that if Lando was close to the capital, he could visit his father’s shop and from there, he could start asking around using his father’s connections.

This was probably going to take a while to accomplish and Nico hoped that before he would join Kimi’s group, he would be able to get a response. Had it been left to Nico’s discretion, he would have sent this letter long ago, on the first night of Sebastian’s incident with the daggers. But unfortunately, he had to wait for Kimi’s departure before he could arrange for it. Doing this behind Kimi’s back didn’t suit Nico's taste, but he didn’t want to alert Kimi of his doubts about Sebastian and his worries about his friend’s behavior around the healer.

Without meaning to, by the hands of pure luck, he had been a witness to Sebastian and Kimi’s little chat beside the marble fountain. That night, he had been on the second storey of the house, his chair before the entrance of his room. He had been enjoying one last cup of tea before he’d go for the bed.

He had seen Kimi leave his room with a bundle of fabric in his hands. Deeming it unnecessary for his presence to be known, Nico had guessed that Kimi was escaping to the oasis again. Thus, he had let him be and continued drinking his tea, quickly forgetting about seeing him. 

But after some time, instead of hearing the hoofs of a horse leaving the stable, he heard Kimi and Sebastian’s voices approaching. They'd stopped right under his room, near the middle of the yard and beside the fountain. He could see and hear them clearly from where he had been concealed by the shadows. Intrigued by the turn of the events, Nico did not make any noise and listened in on them.

The way the two had been behaving around each other was tentative and measured, but surprisingly it was Kimi who had seemed to pay extra attention to be so. It was so easy to see how his friend held Sebastian in high esteem and was having difficulty in showing this to the younger man. Yet at the same time, he was crafty. 

Even though Kimi acted like he didn’t care, he insinuated the possibility of a sexual relationship between Sebastian and Pierre to smother his well veiled doubts about the subject. After Sebastian refuted the idea, Kimi had seemed as nonplussed as ever, but what counted was the fact that Kimi had felt the need to make sure of it. That told quite a lot about what his friend had to be feeling for the healer.

Nico wondered if Kimi was aware of his growing feelings. He had never seen Kimi look at anyone like the way he had looked at Sebastian when the healer had cried and left Kimi there, wide eyed and totally mystified. It took a lot to leave Kimi speechless and Sebastian seemed to be a master at it.

Understandably, Sebastian wanted to be free. He had even said that unless he stood as equals with Kimi, he wasn’t going to believe in Kimi’s sincerity. That comment alone had been enough to stun Kimi into hopeless silence.

Nico could understand Sebastian’s desperation, but he had been really frightened when he realized that Sebastian’s words and tears had caused the water in the fountain to boil when Kimi touched the edge of the marble bowl. It had been a long time since Kimi got that upset over something to cause that phenomenon.

The next day, Nico had hoped that Kimi would approach him about what had happened, but neither Kimi had come to him, nor did Nico have the courage to open up the subject. 

He didn’t know what kind of urge had made Kimi buy Sebastian, but he was now sure that Sebastian was scratching at and slowly waking up a dormant side of Kimi like none other had ever been able to do before. Was that something good or bad, it was yet to be seen. Because that part of Kimi was raw and primeval. If the ominous sense of premonition that was gnawing at Nico’s thoughts was anything to go by, this thing between the two of them was only bound to bring trouble. And Nico had always been right.

* * *

The next day of Sebastian’s distasteful night in Webber’s tent was the twelfth day of their travel. Even though he was thankful that he no longer needed to go to the despicable man’s tent, he was worried for Jamie. He wondered where the slave girl was, because he didn’t see her among Webber’s group of consorts. He just hoped that the Bey would leave her alone and not hurt her anymore. But knowing the man’s sadistic tendency, Sebastian was aware that his wish was an empty one.

The whip lash wound around his arm was still fresh and smarted when he strained his arm, but he was no longer willing to use it against Webber as he had promised to do so if he were to hurt Jamie again. Now he was all too aware of Kimi’s presence and Webber’s thorny words were still ringing in his ears and disturbing him. For a while, he didn’t want to be alone with Kimi if possible. Thankfully, his hands were full with work and Kimi seemed just as preoccupied as him. But the ever watchful gaze of the other youth was always on him.

That aside, what bothered Sebastian the most was the gradually disappearing trail of the underground water that he had been trying to follow since the day of their departure. It was disquieting, because they seemed to be walking away from the trail. 

There had been small wells on their way, situated within two or three days’ walk away from each other on their route, but most of them had been seasonal ones other than the ones close to Nefer. They were filled with water, yes, but their level was always measured. The soldiers guarding them demanded money for their use from the travelers; so, the caravan took only as much as to survive until the next well. It agitated Sebastian to wander into these unknown lands where there was nothing but a vast barrenness that even emptied his heart of its will and hope. For him, this was a form of torture that only he could understand the extend of.

They had been living on a too small share of water to preserve their stock until they’d reach a well or a water supply and Sebastian knew that if they wouldn’t be able to find a way to run away soon, he’d be drained of his energy before they’d reach their destination. 

These dark thoughts were weighing on his mind even though he was trying to not mull over them and alert Pierre. But he was sure that his good friend was already aware of his growing restlessness and wasn’t saying anything to not agitate him further.

Another night fell on them without any incidents and together with Pierre, Sebastian was eating his dinner in a secluded side of the camp, close to where the animals rested. They could hear the men talking among themselves about how they were expecting to reach an outpost village by the fourteenth day’s dawn if they could keep this pace until then. Honestly, Sebastian greatly suspected to find any alive water resources there, but dead or alive, water was water.

Contemplating whether to go and fetch some of that awful coffee that Kimi’s men were brewing upon the main fire place, Sebastian and Pierre were simply resting there when somebody with a tray approached them, face and body all covered. 

Understandably getting vary, Pierre straightened up and Sebastian looked at the stranger with hard eyes. Unfazed, the stranger sat down near them, hands in chains, and offered the tray to them. There were two cups of dark liquid, which was probably wine, and some big dried figs and dates on it.

Before Sebastian could ask the stranger who they were, Jamie untied her turban and revealed her hair and face, surprising him.

“These are for you.” She softly spoke in Qenaanii. “As my thanks...”

Relieved, Sebastian smiled at the slave girl and introduced her and Pierre to each other. “Sorry, I couldn’t recognize you in that.” He apologized for their earlier terseness.

Jamie smiled, too, needlessly and self consciously trying to correct her long and unflattering robe which looked quite well worn. “I tend to the animals during the day.” She explained. “So I am given this to wear.”

Before, Sebastian had thought that Jamie was just one of the consorts of the Bey, but apparently he was wrong.

Seeing the puzzlement on her savior’s face, Jamie smiled wistfully. “I am the lowliest slave among that man’s possessions. So, I am made to do all kinds of things.”

The comment twisted something inside Sebastian and his eyes were drawn to his own shackled hands.

Something must have shown on his face, because Jamie drew his attention back on herself, asking. “Why does a healer like you wear those? What have you done?” She looked at Pierre, too. Her expression was clearly one of disbelief as if she couldn’t fathom how anyone like Sebastian or Pierre would be walking around with bound hands and feet.

Sebastian shrugged, “To tell the truth, we don’t even know either.”

Jamie looked at them with huge black eyes, showing her own rusty chains. “In Quenaan, only vicious and dangerous slaves are kept in these, but you two look like decent people.”

“We are decent people.” Pierre nodded with conviction, “But our master has to be thinking otherwise.”

“That silent guy with the green eyes?” Jamie looked around as if she was afraid to be heard. “But he is nothing like Webber.”

“Kimi?” Sebastian shook his head. “We don’t belong to him.”

Jamie’s face was sad now. “That’s a pity.” She sincerely lamented. “He really is a kind person.”

“How do you know?” Pierre asked, not aware of how Kimi had practically saved the girl's life.

Jamie gazed at Pierre’s doubtful eyes. “Webber likes some freak show together with his dinner. And that night, after he had beaten me, he threw me before your Bey, trying to amuse himself by the reactions he hoped to see on your Bey’s face. But the moment your Bey saw me; he tried his all to persuade Webber to let your friend heal me. I am really glad he showed mercy to me instead of ignoring me and continuing his eating like all the others before him.” Then Jamie looked at Sebastian’s chained hands. “If Kimi Bey was your master, I am sure he wouldn’t use them on you. That’s why it is a pity.”

The conviction in the girl’s eyes, the surety of her words amazed both Sebastian and Pierre. Jamie was an honest girl, Sebastian could tell that much. She really wished the best for Sebastian and Pierre and she had to be thinking that Kimi fitted that description well. 

“But a slave is a slave.” Sebastian smiled at the girl ruefully. “Even when we’d belong to him and these shackles would be gone, then there’d be those tattoos forever branding and sealing our fates. To whom you belong doesn’t matter as long as you are seen as a thing to be owned.”

Jamie didn’t blink, considering, her eyes intelligent. “I don’t even remember how being a free person feels like. I was a small child when I was given to that man as ransom.” She confessed, but there was no trace of self-pity there. “I think I wouldn’t have minded if I belonged to someone like your Bey. But Sebastian is right. A slave is a slave. So, I am either going to be free again or I’ll die trying.” She declared calmly.

For a moment, Sebastian didn’t know what to say to the girl. She talked and acted beyond her years, possibly hardened by the torment that she’d been through since her childhood. It was as if the child inside her was dead. It was no surprise actually, considering how much she had to have suffered in the hands of that abhorrent man. “Those whip wounds... Why did he punish you that night?” Sebastian dreaded the answer.

“Because I tried to kill him. Again...”

Sebastian’s eyes widened, his mouth going slack. His gaze involuntarily found Pierre’s as if he wanted to see if his friend gave the same reaction. Pierre was just as surprised as him, probably thinking how a malnourished, chained down girl like her had tried to kill her master not once but many times before.

“Mine is a distasteful story.” Jamie shrugged and then pushed the tray towards them. “Sebastian, please drink. It is a good wine.”

“Where did you get it?” Pierre asked, but could already guess the answer.

“I stole it from him.” Jamie shrugged again. “But don’t worry, he’d never realize.” She tried to assure them. But when she saw their distaste, she pursed her lips in regret. “But it seems it was a mistake.”

Seeing that, Sebastian quickly erased that look from his face and he took one of the cups. “No, this is a gift from our friend.” He smiled and raised his cup. “To freedom...”

A bit thrown off by Sebastian’s quickness, Pierre followed suit. “To freedom...” He joined his friend and they drank their wine.

That made Jamie visibly happy as she nodded at them in thanks. “I must get going.” She wrapped her turban again, hiding her hair and face expertly. “Thank you for your help, Sebastian.” She bowed at him. “And if you can, please tell your Bey that I am forever grateful for his mercy, too.”

Sebastian could only look on after the girl, as Jamie quickly disappeared among her own people. His lips thinned in displeasure, but not at the girl. He had already known about Kimi's intervention and Jamie’s words only served to confirm what a good heart he got. He could understand her reasoning when she'd said she’d rather belong to Kimi than endure Webber’s torment. But Sebastian wondered if Kimi would really unlock their chains if they would have belonged to him even though he was probably aware that Sebastian could erase the tattoo of ownership. Then, nothing could prove their slavery and Sebastian could simply run away whenever he wanted.

He snorted at the idea. No one would do that after paying that much money, not even Kimi. But he considered, if he had only been a simple healer and nothing more, would he stay with Kimi and willingly follow him around as a free man? Deep down inside, he knew that he would have done so, if Kimi would have set him free and offered him to work for him. Had he not been who he was, Sebastian would possibly accept it and realizing that made his eyes go teary and hurt his stomach. He couldn’t believe his own willingness.

“She looks ready to die.” Pierre pulled him out of his misery with his observation. “I am sure she’ll try to kill him soon again. She has made up her mind.”

Sebastian took a deep breath, trying to quell the pain in his chest. “That is precisely why he won’t kill her. He has no mercy. He knows that keeping her alive in her captivity is a better punishment.”

Pierre’s face scrunched up in disgust. “So, he is that kind of a sick man...”

Sebastian nodded, sipping at Jamie’s wine as if to wash away the bitterness that he felt. “That’s why slavery has to be abolished in the whole continent, not just in Kissaara.”

Pierre agreed with him, but they had no power over the stance the other countries had towards slavery. The only thing that they could do was to use their political influence to show the others what was the humane thing to do. But their current ironical situation told a lot about how much that influence was worth in the end.

The dark mood that caught them threw them into silence, yet Pierre believed that at least they had each other’s company to hang on. He promised himself that he’d save Sebastian no matter what the cost of it was. He drank the rest of his wine to seal that promise.

* * *

Just as they had planned, they reached the outpost at the end of their second week. 

The sand dunes slowly gave way to the hardened earth in sepia colors and there stood the village as a small spot of isolated green. 

The heavily guarded village had a garrison situated near it, because it was in a strategically important spot. It was close to Nefer; also the only outpost before the travelers would reach the capital city of Belili, Harin. 

There wasn’t an oasis here, but surprisingly the village was very green. There were even small trees growing around partly thanks to the six wells which were large and dug quite deep. So, there was always water even though it lessened or increased seasonally. That was why this village was important.

After Kimi had their papers inspected by the soldiers, they silently took lodgings near one of the wells close to the outskirts of the village where there were less people but more space to move around. They were going to camp here for three days, refill their depleting food and water stocks and rest their men and animals so that they’d be ready for another three weeks long journey to Harin. 

From there on Webber’s group was going to split and go their own way to the city of Asvan in Tianna. That was the opposite direction from Kimi’s destination, Dain in Ingria.

_ Good riddance... _ Kimi thought, silently observing the setting up of the camping tents. He had nothing against the other Bey, but Webber’s behavior really disturbed him. 

That slave girl which Sebastian had treated seemed better now and he had seen her around Sebastian a few times since that dinner at Webber’s tent. He didn’t know what to make of it, because the girl looked meek and calm with a small presence, always trying to blend in. Yet her master was another story. 

That night, Webber had been really amused by Sebastian’s behavior and words, and this meant trouble if he knew that man even a bit. Then again, Kimi wasn’t sure if Sebastian would come to him and seek his help if the other Bey had posed any danger for him. Sebastian was prideful and lately, he seemed to be avoiding him for some reason.

Demoralized by the thought, Kimi tried his best to remember their last exchange to figure out if he’d said or done something to frighten the healer away, but he couldn’t recall anything of the sort. He had thought that Sebastian would be elated to arrive in a village with this many water resources, but if possible, the healer was frowning more and his displeasure was not hidden. He only smiled at Pierre and Jamie whenever she was near him.

Currently, Kimi was discreetly watching the three of them sitting together, eating the soup and bread Jamie had fetched for them. No one seemed to care about the new addition to Sebastian’s following, because his and Webber’s men knew each other well and preferred their company over the meals and drinks. So it was common to mingle during the resting times.

Not that he cared about whom Sebastian preferred to spend his resting time with, but he really didn’t want to deal with Webber if he would get ideas after learning how his slave girl was befriending her savior.  _ Yes _ , he tried to convince himself, this was the only reason why he felt a twinge of discomfort whenever he saw them together, nothing else.

Mentally shrugging at his musings, Kimi finished his bowl of soup and told Arnall to follow him, leaving the preparations to his men. He had a place to visit.

His loyal right hand man after him, Kimi went for the smallest house of the village that was in the middle of the largest garden. There was a packet in his hands with several small pouches within it. It was his custom to take this gift to that house every time he’d travel here.

There, in this house, lived an old woman named Matsu that he had met during his childhood. She was alone in this world with nothing but her garden. She was a curious woman who had seen him during his first travels as a merchant and told him that he shouldn’t be afraid of touching the flowers and the trees.

Kimi didn’t know how she had sensed that fear in him as he had been aimlessly walking around the village and admiring the flora. She had smiled down at him, her brown eyes twinkling under the sun. “There will be a day when you’ll make them bloom with the touch of your hand instead of burning them. So, don’t be sad anymore.”

That was what his own grandmother used to say to him whenever she’d catch him with a piece of charred flower or a shriveled branch in the palace garden. Hearing the same thing from Matsu, he was instantly sold. He had pestered her about how she could tell, how she could even know that, but the old woman had only laughed and shaken her head. “Time tells me so my child, the time...”

To this day, Kimi wasn’t able to learn the secret behind the woman’s power, but he was sure that it had something related to his essence of fire. Maybe she had a similar power like his Arinna, because he knew that whatever she had planted in this barren land had given heaps of fruit and vegetables or grew tall enough to cast a shade. The woman had a green thumb that even Nico was jealous of. And as if sensing that power in her, the village people respected and looked after her well.

“Grandma?” Kimi called aloud after he entered from the front garden. “Grandmother, it is me, Kimi.” He walked on the narrow path between the high beanstalks in happiness for reuniting with an old friend, but the one who had opened the door of the small house was not the old Matsu. It was a neighbor woman.

Realizing that there was something wrong from the passive face of the woman, Kimi rushed in, only to be greeted by Matsu laying in her bed, looking up at him with rueful eyes. “Come, dear child. Do come in.” She invited him with her usual fond smile.

Kimi didn’t need to be told twice. He approached and knelt near her bed, his eyes full of worry. “What happened to you? Why are you like this?”

Matsu chuckled at his question weakly, shaking her head. “Old age happened, child. Don’t fret, I am fine.”

Kimi would have liked to say  _ No, you look anything but fine _ , yet he held his tongue, trying for a small smile to reassure her. “Yes, you’ll be alright.” He nodded his head. “Mark, bring Sebastian here.” He ordered his man by using his given name, something he did only when the situation was dire, and Arnall quickly disappeared. “How long has she been like this?” He asked the neighbor woman.

“More than a month, Bey. We have brought in healers, too, but...”

Kimi’s eyes narrowed down, his mouth was set in a thin line of worry. He believed that Sebastian was surely going to find a cure for her. If only they had known and come here earlier, his old friend wouldn’t have suffered through this.

“That look does not suit you, Kimi.” Matsu tried to reach for his face, but her hand was weak and fell short. 

Kimi caught it in his and squeezed it, trying to look less upset to encourage her mood. 

“Oh, my dear... Look at you.” She held onto him. “Your power has grown again.” She whispered. Then her eyebrows drew together in concentration. “But there is something different...”

Kimi looked on in apprehension, both at her condition and at what she was murmuring about. “Don’t tire yourself, Grandma.” He had never told her what he actually was or how he was known as the  _ dreaded sun _ in his homeland, but apparently, to some extent, she could feel what lay inside him.

“No, no... There is a change in the flow of your power.” She insisted. “I have never felt this in you before.” Then she went silent and closed her eyes as if she was listening in on something that only she could hear. Her smile slowly faded away from her face and for a second, Kimi thought that she was falling asleep. He turned to the neighbor woman who was busying around the room, catching her attention.

She shook her head and whispered. “She is always tired. She sometimes passes out like that in the middle of a conversation.”

“Who has been taking care of her all this time?”

“We take turns, we have never left her alone. Don’t worry, Bey.”

Kimi bowed at the woman in thanks and turned back to the old woman who was slumbering like a little kid now. 

Even though she was ill, she seemed to be at peace with her situation. She didn’t look in pain and her features were relaxed. It was as if she was happy and content with the world. 

Kimi had always been amazed at her attitude towards life. He had never seen her complain through all the years he’d visited and been a guest to her house. He really wanted to see her get better.

As he sat there, the door was knocked on and the neighbor woman opened it to reveal Arnall with Sebastian in his tow. Matsu stirred at the noise and even though Sebastian tried to be silent with his chains, the old woman opened her eyes.

“Who is it?” She asked, straining to see Sebastian who quickly came near the bed, already informed by Arnall of the situation on the way.

“This is Sebastian. He is a healer, Grandma.” Kimi introduced him and moved aside to create room for the healer to work.

For some reason, Matsu suddenly became livelier. She even tried to get up, but Sebastian stopped her gently.

“No, no, no... Please lie down, don’t tire yourself, Granny.” Sebastian spoke softly to calm the old woman, but Matsu was getting excited by the minute. 

She was scrutinizing Sebastian’s appearance so carefully that Sebastian barely resisted the need to share a discreet look with Kimi whose eyes were equally filled with the same incomprehension.

“Oh, another one, another one...” Matsu was smiling in appreciation at Sebastian, as if she had sized Sebastian up and down to assess his worth and had deemed him good quality.

Sebastian would have laughed at the old woman’s strange yet cute antics, but Kimi would probably take offense. “Granny, what is your ailment, how do you feel?” He asked her.

She laughed, her eyes full of energy now. “Do you have a cure for old age, child?” She questioned with a mischievous spark. “Tell him it is not a sickness; tell him it is the natural course of life.” She meant Kimi.

Sebastian smiled at that, liking her stance against her condition. “Okay...” He conceded, “But I need to examine you to find if there is anything else that is bothering you.”

She nodded and Sebastian opened his bag to take out a jar of balm. He rubbed some of it in his palms and immediately a wonderful smell spread around. His hands went for the old lady’s head, but as soon as he touched her, her eyes went impossibly wide and she gasped softly.

Sebastian immediately realized that it was not due to pain, but because of great astonishment. His own eyes went wide in alarm. He clenched his teeth. They shared a look and the urgency and desperation in his eyes had to be all too clear. In that moment, Matsu's eyes shifted towards where Kimi was, but quickly she looked back at Sebastian again. There was a question in their soft brown depths and Sebastian understood it without words. He imperceptibly raised his eyebrows and that was all that the woman needed to relax and smile again.

“What is it?” Kimi asked, his voice full of suspicion and concern. “Grandma, what happened?”

Sebastian knew that nothing escaped from the other’s eyes, but now was really not the time for his prying. Luckily, the old lady was an understanding woman and she simply waved her hand at him in a dismissive way.

“You little worrywart, let him do his job.” She chuckled and looked back at Sebastian softly.

Thankful for her discretion, Sebastian massaged the temples of her with the balm and then rubbed her joints with a darker and thicker liquid one by one, his mouth moving with his silent words. He made her drink one of his premade pastes and gave the jar to the old lady’s caretaker, instructing her in how to use it. 

There wasn’t much he could do for her, because just as the old lady had told, she was dying due to her old age. This was so unfortunate, because Sebastian had never seen anyone like her before. His heart was still thudding in his earlier fear, because he was sure that somehow she had felt his power and was about to declare it to the other occupants of the room. He had been this close to being found out, but the old lady had to have understood his need of secrecy and kept silent. That was a miracle, because she had no reason to help him at all.

The old lady was a  _ Center _ . Center people were so rare that they were believed to be just rumors, legends. They had two cores within them when normally every other person on this continent had one. 

This lady had a core of fire and earth in such a harmony that Sebastian had never seen the likes of it before. Most people’s cores would generally be in a disarray, their life force misaligned and fluctuating; thus they'd fall ill. But he was sure that the old lady had never been sick in her entire life other than the small ailments that her age brought in. She was a one in a million, and she was going to be lost to them in a short while. How was he going to tell this to Kimi, he didn’t know.

Kimi was waiting patiently for Sebastian to speak, to tell him that Matsu was going to be well and on her feet soon enough. But the healer was silent and Matsu had never taken her eyes from him, regarding Sebastian in deep contemplation with a small smile on her face. 

What was that look that they had shared? Why had her eyes gone round like that when Sebastian had touched her? For a moment there, she had been about to tell something, but then she had looked back at Sebastian and kept silent. Why was it so? Kimi realized that his patience was wearing thin.

“Sebastian, tell me something.” He demanded a bit tersely.

Sebastian was helping Matsu into a half sitting position, putting pillows behind her back. He rearranged her thin cover and leaned back, not looking at Kimi at all. “She is actually fine.” He hid the truth; because how could he say that her organs were slowly shutting off, not because of illness, but due to being old. Everything had their limit and she was regretfully close to hers. “She is tired and she needs rest.”

“You are lying.” Kimi accused. There was displeasure and disappointment in his voice and Sebastian felt something twist in his heart.

“She doesn’t have an illness that I can cure, Kimi.” He was telling the truth now, but he still refused to meet the other’s eyes, preferring to rummage at his bag to hide his discomfort.

“I don’t believe you.” Kimi spat, grabbing onto Sebastian’s chained hand to stop his tinkering. When Sebastian flinched at his touch, anger flared in him for some reason, but he controlled it. “What are you hiding, why don’t you look into my eyes?”

Sebastian clenched his teeth at the intensity of the pain that shot up in his flesh. It had never been like this before. He endured it, still refusing to meet Kimi’s eyes. Instead, he looked up at Matsu, who was watching them with a concerned face.

Seeing that pleading look in Sebastian’s eyes, Matsu berated Kimi good naturedly. “Child, let him go. What do you expect him to say to you? That I’ll be as good as new, that I’ll trick death for another couple of years?” She snorted at that, still making light of her condition. “It won’t happen, Kimi. Death is not an illness that you can cure; I am going to die soon.”

With her words, Kimi’s hold slackened and his eyes went wide in pained shock. He turned to Sebastian. “Is she... Really going to...” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the question, but saw Sebastian nod in confirmation. He sat back, biting on his lower lip, his shoulders sagging in defeat as if his body was closing in on itself.

Matsu sighed at his reaction ruefully and leaned her head on the pillows, her body slowly going lax. “Even though I am immensely happy to be able to see you again, I really wish you wouldn’t have to see me like this.” She murmured and closed her eyes again, falling asleep with a sad expression on her face.

Kimi sat there silently for a long time, his eyes emptily gazing at her general direction without actually registering what he was seeing.

Sebastian sat beside him and hid his burnt hand, silently healing it before anyone could see it. He really wanted to talk, to say something to console Kimi, but he doubted that it was a good idea, because Kimi seemed to be angry at him for some reason and he didn’t want to disturb the lady’s rest if their talk would escalate into an argument.

The pain that Kimi had inflicted on him unknowingly was like a manifestation of what Kimi had to be going through. So, Sebastian deemed that there was no reason to agitate him further. But apparently Kimi was thinking otherwise.

He procured a key from his shalvar’s pocket and none too gently tugged at Sebastian’s hand shackles, turning him towards his side. He unlocked his shackles, and then went for his feet and discarded the noisy chains away from them, throwing the key towards Arnall who had been standing near the door.

“You’ll be here, looking after her during our stay in the village.” He ordered.

The irate way in which Kimi had undone his chains and the coldness of his tone disturbed Sebastian, but he held his tongue.

“And never lie to me again.” With that, Kimi got up and left the house, Arnall in tow.

Sebastian sat there, his ire boiling within him. Yes, he had lied dammit, but he had done so to spare him from the pain of knowing that he was about to witness the death of a dear friend. 

Arnall had told him that Kimi really valued this patient, thus Sebastian should do his best. That had been unnecessary; because Sebastian had seen how worried and sad Kimi was even though the other youth was actively trying to hide it to put up a calm front for the sake of the lady. And what was more, he didn’t need anyone to tell him to do his best for a patient, nor did he need Kimi to order him to look after her. He had already been about to offer his help.

He sighed deeply, rubbing at his sore ankles and wrists. He turned towards the young caretaker and told her that she could leave since he was going to be there for a few days. The woman showed him where some necessary household items were, along with the medicines that the other healers had given to the old lady. And then she left.

Alone with his sleeping patient, Sebastian looked around the small house that consisted of a single big room with a small cellar and a kitchen at the far end of the same living space. The room had only the bare minimums of a house, understandable for a single old woman, but it was clean and orderly. He could see that the people had taken good care of her. Yet the eye catching part of the estate was not the house itself, but the garden.

Sebastian guessed that the lady was blessed with a power that enabled her to grow whatever she planted into whichever kind of soil as long as there was water around. That explained the overabundance of her garden’s crops. The garden was enough to feed the whole village and she seemed to be the sharing type. He wished that he could have met her earlier under different circumstances to learn from her experience, but that wish was not meant to be granted.

“Are you chained because of that power swirling in you, child?”

Sebastian got startled by her small voice, his wide eyes finding her concerned ones. “That... No, that’s not the case, Granny. No one knows about it.” For some reason he felt the need to tell her the truth.

“Not even Kimi?” She asked hopefully.

Finding that a bit odd, Sebastian shook his head. “How much of my power you were able to sense, I don’t know, but Kimi knows me as a healer, nothing more.”

A bit crestfallen by the answer, she suggested in good faith, “You can tell him about it. He is a good child, he’ll understand, he’ll share your secret.”

Sebastian chuckled at that mirthlessly, his eyes reflecting the desolation in him. “Granny,” He showed her his wounded wrists, “I am his friend Nico’s slave. That man has probably gifted me to Kimi, I am kept in iron shackles by them. How can I confide in him?”

Matsu didn’t hide her sadness upon the news, humming to herself in thought as her eyebrows came together in disappointment. “That is so unfortunate.” She lamented with pursed lips. “But here you are confiding in me, my child.”

Sebastian laughed with derision. “And I don’t even know why I am doing that, either.” He confessed, averting his eyes. “It is just that… There, a little while ago, you chose to not talk about what you felt in me even though you know nothing about me. That kind of trust deserved something of its kind in return...”

“All I know is that you have to hide this and that is enough reason for me to keep it a secret, child. I am close to death, so it really isn’t hard for me to just listen and not tell. Talking is such a hassle that it makes me fall asleep.” She winked at him, still able to find humor in their dark topic.

“You really are a curious lady.” Sebastian shook his head at her antics good naturedly. “I can see why Kimi likes you so much.”

“Oh, is that so?” She closed her eyes again, sighing in contentment. “And I understand the reason for _that_ _change_ now.” She spoke enigmatically, puzzling Sebastian. “Though, I can’t guess if it is for the good or for the bad.”

“What is it, Granny?” Sebastian had no idea what she was talking about, but she looked quite confident in her observation.

“You’ll see, my child. You’ll see.” Her ever present smile stretched. “Now would you give me some water, talking makes me thirsty.”

Sebastian fetched her some water and infused it with a sliver of his power. Now that he was found out, there was no need to hide it. He helped her drink it and she seemed to have enjoyed every gulp.

“I have never drunk water so delicious like this before, thank you.” She commended him.

“Are you hungry?”

She shook her head.

“Do you need anything else, Granny?”

For a second, her eyes shifted to something that was on the ground, behind Sebastian, towards the door. “Would you hand me that, child?”

Sebastian saw a brown sack there and brought it to her. When she carefully opened it, she revealed small pouches, each of them carefully tied.

“Ah, new seeds...” Matsu hummed in appreciation and untied a pouch, showing its contents to Sebastian. “Look, tomato seeds... Oh, and they are even better than the last batch.”

One of Sebastian’s eyebrows rose. Those seeds were really in good quality and tomato was something people paid a fortune for. “You can even grow tomatoes here?”

Matsu nodded at him proudly. “Everything, child... Everything...” With shaky hands, she opened the other pouches one after another and she particularly took out one pouch and hid it in her bosom under her clothes.

Sebastian smiled at her. “Granny, is that really a good idea?”

“Shushh… It is.” Matsu smiled back. “They’ll be fine. Kimi had picked up the best ones again.”

When she saw the confusion in Sebastian’s eyes, she explained. "Every year, he brings me these, collecting them from the lands he travels to. Then I plant them and grow them. Everyone eats them, sits under their shade, and smells their fragrance. We even sell them to the travelers.”

“But that is your power, right? You can probably grow anything you want as long as there is water there... I am sure the quality of the seeds doesn’t matter.” Sebastian argued.

“The seeds Kimi gets are special...” She sounded certain of it.

Sebastian didn’t see the point. “How so?”

Her eyes took on a disbelieving look. “Can’t you really tell, my child?”

“Tell what?” Sebastian asked with some impatience.

She looked at him long and hard and then tied the sack, sighing. “Interesting...” She chose to not elaborate, frustrating him a bit. Then, she changed the subject. “Even though these are fine seeds, I guess I won’t be able to plant them. Such a pity...”

Sebastian took the sack from her and put it away, suddenly struck by a thought. “Granny, the wells in this village... Where do they take their water from, do you have any idea?”

She thought for a moment, squinting her eyes in concentration. “They have always been here, probably even before I was born, but honestly I don’t know what their source is.”

He felt crestfallen a bit. “Do they have a dry period?”

“In the past, there has always been some water even during the driest times of the year, but in recent years, some of the wells go dry completely. One or two remains with murky water in them and we make do with what is left until the water levels rise again. But they no longer reach the levels of my healthy days.”

“I saw that three of the wells have gone dry. The one close to your garden is about to go murky and the one close to our camp is the second one that has a decent amount left. It is not even the most arid time yet, either.” Sebastian explained, his eyes glinting with a serious spark. “Near the garrison, there were some people working, digging deeper between the wells with the water in them.”

“But, child, this village is in a trench of sorts, have you not noticed? We are in a lower ground than the surrounding lands.”

Sebastian thought on that. He hadn’t been paying much attention to the landscape elevation due to the work that was asked of him, but no, that was not the case. “If anything, being on the lower ground should have guaranteed the constant presence of water, helping it filter towards here from the higher lands around. But Granny, you are aware that this village will go barren again like it had never had this greenery before when you... When you are gone... Your presence is the anchor that still helps it grow and flourish.”

Matsu silently contemplated his words. “That’s probably true.” She agreed, regret lacing her voice. “But times are changing, child, everything has to change.”

Sebastian frowned at her calm show of surrender, anger flaring in him. This village had already been dead. It had died even before Matsu’s time came. The dam on the Arda River was sapping away the whole underground water into the main river basin and drying up the resources that were left even in these kinds of secluded places. 

Most probably the wells in this village used to have a connection with an underground lake or river in the past and after the dam was put to use, the connection broke and the wells had just a pocket of isolated water supply left under them to feed from. With little to no rain, that water was depleting quickly and the villagers were mistaking it with seasonal bouts of drought. No... The water had been dead here for quite some time, the Aranks of it had returned back to the earth. It was no use to dig in for deeper and larger wells. It only served to delay the inevitable.

For a vengeful moment, Sebastian wanted to slap this information at Kimi’s face, that all the hard and beloved work of his old friend was going to ruin because of that dam he was so protective of, but... That would hurt him and Sebastian knew that Kimi’s pain would hurt him in return.

“Why don’t you heal those wounds?”

Sebastian came back to the present with her voice and realized that he had been rubbing at one of the wounds on his wrist. He desisted from sighing deeply, suddenly feeling tired under the weight of his heavy thoughts.

“They’d reopen no matter how many times I’d heal them. So, there is no point in it as long as I wear those chains.”

Matsu fell silent again, thinking. She still couldn’t believe how Kimi would let the healer walk around in those chains long enough for them to inflict those nasty bruises and raw wounds. Apparently, so much had changed since she had last seen Kimi, because she had never witnessed him to treat his other men like he had done to Sebastian, either. It was as if Kimi expected better and more from Sebastian, which was unusual.

That change in the power flow of Kimi, throwing him in disarray like she had never felt before... She guessed that the reason for it was the healer. Compared to him, Sebastian was more balanced as if he was at peace with what he was and knew what to do with himself in life. Yet Kimi was just drifting with the times, letting the river take him wherever it pleased. But Matsu knew that deep down inside, Kimi was not content with it, that he was bored of the status quo, and he needed to change. This young man, Sebastian, was going to be the catalyst for that change. Matsu could sense a tension between them, but all she could do was to wish goodness on the two of them as they had a hard path to walk on.

“Ah," She sighed. "I am too old to think this much, child, give me a hand.” She made Sebastian to help her recline back into her bed. “Go out, walk around the garden, pick up and eat whatever you like. You are too young to sit and wait beside an old hag like me.” She chuckled. “I am going to sleep, now go.”

Even though Sebastian knew that Kimi had to have left guardians around the estate, he did as he was told after putting her covers over her. Just as he expected, one man was loitering around in the garden and expertly feigned ignorant of his presence, while another man was sitting in the shade of a neighboring house. Sebastian ignored them and took off his shoes, preferring to walk around on bare feet. He planned to make their dinner, so he went towards the vegetables and considered what to cook. It had been so long since he had eaten anything fresh, and his patient needed something easy on the stomach, so vegetable stew it was.

Matsu slept through the evening and well into the night. Alone with nothing to do, Sebastian cooked dinner, made juice from the apples that he’d picked up together with some herbs he carried in his bag. After lighting some candles, he opened the door to let the cooler air of the night in only to come face to face with Kimi who was about to knock on the door. The other youth was carrying a bucket of milk for Matsu and Sebastian took it from him and went to the fire place.

Kimi followed him into the house, mindfully silent for the sleeping Matsu. Coming closer, he checked upon her. She was sleeping as if she wasn’t ill, as if she had no worries in the world. He knew that sleeping this frequently and this long was not something good, but at least she was not in pain or in delirium.

Now that he made sure that Matsu was alright, he stood there, not knowing what to do with himself. It was as if he couldn’t decide on staying or leaving, so he just waited.

Sebastian made the decision for him. “Eaten dinner?” He whispered, startling Kimi. Receiving a shake of his head, he pointed to the far end of the room. “Sit there.”

Kimi went and sat down on the small pillows obediently, watching Sebastian work about the fireplace.

Sebastian poured the milk into a clean bucket and hung it over the heart, then prepared two plates of food and brought them to where Kimi was sitting. After taking two cups from the apple juice and some bread, he joined with Kimi. 

They ate in silence, but he could feel Kimi’s eyes on him as if he had something to say to Sebastian. Sebastian guessed that it had to be about his behavior in the afternoon, but he really didn’t mind it. Kimi had just taken bad news then, and his reaction had been predictable and understandable. If the situation had been different, Sebastian could even find Kimi’s fruitless attempts at trying to strike up a conversation as endearing, but it only seemed sad now.

“Drink that, it quenches the thirst.” He whispered to save the other male from his struggle.

At that, Kimi’s shoulders visibly relaxed. Just as obediently as before, he drank his juice in a few gulps. “Thanks for the food and the drink. They were tasty.”

Sebastian nodded at him and they stood up together, taking their used dishes. Sebastian was a bit surprised to see Kimi collect the dishes in a washbowl to be cleaned and then procure an old tea pot and fill it with water to hang beside the milk bucket over the fire. 

Kimi was used to this house’s order and knew where to find and put things. He took out something from his pocket and gave it to Sebastian.

“One of the men grounded these for you.” 

It was a small jar of coffee and as soon as Sebastian opened the lid, a nice smell hit his nose. He looked at Kimi in question and the other shrugged. “As a thanks for your medicine.” He explained. “Though I guess you prefer black tea...”

His eyebrows going up, Sebastian remembered that he should no longer be surprised at how observant Kimi was. “But you like coffee, right?” He murmured back. Kimi’s eyes went wide and predictably to hide his reaction, he turned his head away. Sebastian bit on his lip to conceal his smile. “Okay, you’ll have your coffee, then.”

“Oh, the dinner is ready...” Matsu was awake again and Kimi was immediately beside her.

“Are you hungry, Grandma?” Kimi asked and when she nodded, Sebastian prepared a bowl for her. 

Kimi helped her sit up and, taking the bowl, he fed her even though she weakly protested at first.

“I don’t remember the last time I ate the food cooked over my own fire.” She ate in small morsels, clearly due to her lessening appetite. “It tastes nice.” She commended and Sebastian smiled at her. 

When the milk boiled, he took some aside in a cup and put some leaves in it to sweeten it for Matsu. Then he poured the boiling water into an earthen tumbler to cool it down as drinking water for her. While Kimi fed and looked after Matsu, Sebastian prepared coffee with some of the milk and set it near Kimi. He left them alone, taking the used dishes outside to clean them.

“He is a good child.” Matsu eyed where Sebastian disappeared from.

“I see he has already won you over.” There was a hint of a smile on Kimi’s lips.

“Then why is he chained? He has wounds all over.”

Kimi took a deep breath, gazing into the cup of milky coffee in his hands. “He can always heal them, but he refuses to do so.”

“Then they’ll reopen and he’ll be hurt again.”

“No, Grandma... He can make them disappear instanty.” He told her, remembering an old twinge of pain and coolness on his collarbone. “Don’t tell me you didn’t feel it when he first touched you. I saw your eyes; I saw how you desisted from making a comment on it. He can probably erase the ownership tattoo, too. Then he can run away whenever he finds the opportunity with nothing to prove to whom he belonged.”

The Kimi that Matsu knew would talk about it in a neutral way, simply stating a fact, without investing an emotion in it; but this Kimi had fear and some kind of ire in his eyes when he talked about how Sebastian could run away unless he wouldn’t be chained. This was frightening.

“Does he belong to you?” Matsu observed Kimi’s reaction as well as her tired eyes allowed, and she saw what she needed to see even though Kimi told her that Nico was the master. Lying did not suit Kimi in the least.

“You ordered him to never lie to you again, but I see that you are the biggest liar here.” She berated him.

Kimi’s eyebrows furrowed and his lips thinned at how easily she had read him. He considered to refute the claim, but who was he trying to fool? He was shut up as soon as his mouth opened.

“Silence, my child, silence... It seems you have changed too much since I last saw you.”

Kimi could only have felt this much ashamed if Matsu had been his real grandmother. Then again, he was sure that she would have admonished him more severely had his grandmother been alive and seen him.

“You don’t have the courage to shoulder his anger if he learns that his master is you. Nico is an easier target to shift the blame on, right?”

He closed his eyes at her bitter words, clenching his teeth. He didn’t think that being slapped by the truth that he desperately tried to ignore by someone else would hurt this much.

“Grandma, he is just a slave...” He tried to undermine the situation, but his empty attempt made him cringe at himself.

“Oh, is he?” She pursed her lips, now understanding why Sebastian refused to confide in him. How could her kind and calm Kimi have turned into a calculating merchant with sinister thoughts like this? Was the reason Sebastian? “Then why are you afraid that he’ll run away?”

Kimi’s eyes narrowed down at the preciseness of the question.“Afraid? I am just concerned. He can heal anything, he is useful for us.”

Practical thinking had always been a side of Kimi’s character, but this was too much. “So, he is just a valuable commodity...” Matsu’s face clouded even though she didn’t believe a word that Kimi had said. When he turned his face away to close the subject, she sighed. “I see… You have never had a balanced core, but child, here is in complete chaos now.” She pointed at his chest. “Be truthful to yourself and be careful.”

Unable to meet her eyes, Kimi nodded his head. To hide his distress by doing something, he sipped at his coffee only to burn his mouth with it. Flinching imperceptibly, he realized that he had caused the liquid to boil as he held the cup in his hands, just like he had done to the waters of the fountain that night. He put the cup aside. His appetite was now gone even though the coffee was good.

“You make me think such complicated things in my death bed.” Matsu complained without any real bite. “Now go away, go... I want to sleep.”

He helped her recline onto the bed again and she turned her back to him. Saddened at how she treated him, he whispered a  _ sorry _ before he went out.

He found Sebastian sitting on a wooden chair in the garden, dishes already done. He was eating a fruit as he watched the sky. Kimi’s body turned towards the healer in an impulsive urge and he took a few steps to where Sebastian was before he squashed that need and stopped himself. But Sebastian had already seen him.

“Catch it.” He threw him a fruit and Kimi caught it in reflex, looking at it in puzzlement as if he didn’t know what to do with the fruit or with himself.

Sebastian cocked his head a bit and waited for a reaction from Kimi, but the other male stood in the dark shadow of the house silently as if he was mulling over the meaning of life. Sebastian had intentionally left him alone with Matsu, but whatever they had talked about had clearly put off Kimi more. For some reason, he wanted to console Kimi and lift up a bit of that weight from his shoulders.

“Is she asleep?” He asked for the sake of starting a conversation, successfully drawing Kimi’s attention. The other youth nodded at him, but he didn’t talk.

“She’ll fall asleep more frequently and sleep for longer.” Sebastian explained with a neutral expression, his face illuminated by the big yellow desert moon. “She is not in pain, Kimi. She is just slowly shutting off.”

Kimi took a deep breath at his words, unable to tear his eyes away from Sebastian’s. “Is there really nothing that you can do?” He finally asked what was actually on the tip of his tongue.

Hearing the doubt in that question hurt and angered Sebastian a bit, but he subdued the emotion. “Do you think I would let a person die before my eyes if there’d be a way of helping them?”

Kimi’s eyes hardened at that, still doubtful, still pained. He approached Sebastian, not wanting the men in and around the garden to eavesdrop on their conversation further. There were a few more chairs scattered around and he grabbed one to sit in front of the younger man. “You once said that you help the flow of life find its way...”

“It is only true if there is some life left in the core of that person, Kimi.”

“And when there is none... Would you let your family die, if there is none?”

Sebastian loathed this talk. In his heart and head he had this talk with himself countless times, countless sleepless nights, but still he wasn’t able to give a truthful answer even to himself. His face took on an edgy expression and the moon light illuminated the torment in his eyes all too clearly.

“I don’t know what you think the limits of my ability is, but Kimi, she is dying. No matter how much you love them and try to hold onto them, some things are meant to change. Accept this and let her go in peace. Every living thing has a life span and when it is close to the end, trying to intervene with it will be fruitless. Because there is nothing left to use or to go by with.”

“That’s no answer to my question.”

This bullheadedness really grated on Sebastian’s nerves, depleting his patience and angering him. There were lots of words on the tip of his tongue, but if he’d spew them in the heat of the argument, forget the chains; he’d be locked away in some hole. Kimi was not aware what kind of a touchy subject that he was trampling on.

“I have been trying to be patient with you the whole day, respecting your pain and ignoring how you treated me. But you have no right to ask me that.” He frowned at Kimi, fed up with his persistence. “I have no obligation to answer you, you are not my master. And even if you were, I wouldn't answer."

For a moment there, Kimi seemed to be about to retort something back, his pale green eyes ablaze with emotion, but he swallowed his words with a visible effort to stay silent. He leaned back and closed his eyes for a second. “So be it, then.” He tightly whispered, conceding the argument. He stood up quickly, his face returning back to its usual state of apathy and he got going.

Even though he had only stated the truth, Sebastian realized that he had caused Kimi to return back to his shell and shut him out. With a twinge of regret in his voice, he muttered behind him. “Nobody should try to play the god, Kimi. Especially not a lowly slave like me...”

That comment stiffened Kimi’s shoulders, but he did not stop his brusque pace until he reached the camp site. 

_ Playing the god, huh? _ He was thinking bitterly.  _ What a thing to say to someone who can destroy with his touch and is feared as the Sun itself. _

-

_ TBC... _


	10. Chapter 10

The next day, Sebastian prepared Matsu a fruity breakfast. He made a paste from the figs and the dates and spread it onto thin pieces of bread with the milk Kimi had brought. She ate a little, claiming that she didn’t have an appetite.

“But you ate your share last night.”

“To not worry him more, child...” She shrugged. “I no longer feel hunger or thirst much. It seems my body does not need sustenance anymore.”

She was probably right, because as he massaged her joints to lessen her pain, he felt that her core was going dimmer and dimmer.

“Is it strange that even though I don’t feel hunger anymore I feel quite fine?”

“No, Granny. It is expected.” He helped her sit up. What she was going through was a strange phenomenon where the patients close to death would suddenly feel energetic enough to do things that they weren’t able to do for a long time. It was as if the body was burning itself up with an instinctive response to the approaching inevitable. “Would you like to do anything different today?”

Matsu thought a bit, and then her gaze shifted to the open door and to the outside. “I think I am well enough to sit under the sun today.” She smiled.

Sebastian nodded, “Then, let me arrange somewhere in the garden for you. Please wait a bit.”

He cleaned the spot where the wooden chairs were and spread an old carpet on the ground under an apple tree. He brought out some pillows for her comfort and when he turned back into the house, he saw that Matsu was already standing on her own feet, waiting to be taken out. They linked arms and Sebastian took her out tentatively and slowly.

When she sat under the shade of the tree she was really happy. “Would you make me some of that coffee that Kimi gave you?”

Sebastian wanted to protest, to say that it would tire her heart, but she had such a look in her eyes that he couldn’t refuse her. He went inside and brewed some for the two of them. 

They drank their coffee in silence, watching the cloudless bright blue sky. Predictably, Matsu couldn’t even finish half of her share, claiming that it tasted like sandpaper. Sebastian smiled at her analogy, but knew that she was only losing her sense of taste, because it really was good coffee.

“How about I cook okras and meat for you, and some pilaf?" He wanted to cheer her up a bit and received a contented nod, aware that she was just humoring him. He waited until she slowly fell asleep and then he picked up some tomatoes, okras and onions to prepare her a good meal, thinking that this might be the last thing that she could properly eat.

Matsu slept the whole afternoon and Sebastian cooked their dinner all alone with the thoughts of Kimi. Now that his anger subsided, he was regretting that he hadn’t been able to word his case better. 

He didn’t know how, but he had clearly hurt Kimi then even though he should be the one to get angry and feel mistreated. He was in the right, dammit, but he felt bad about it.  _ What the hell?! _ He thought, what right did that obstinate guy have to trouble Sebastian’s conscience like this? How could he suspect Sebastian for not doing whatever he could do for Matsu?

He was biting on his lip, so lost in his thoughts that he became aware of his visitor a bit late. Yet it was just Pierre with a man who disappeared as soon as the teen entered the garden.

Pierre was bringing him a change of clothes, his hands and feet still chained. Mindful of the sleeping patient, the teen tried to be as silent as he possibly could with them. “These are for you, Seb.” He put the bundle on the ground and sat beside him.

“How did you come here?”

“Kimi let me. Though he’s been quite put off and subdued since we came here, he gave me permission as soon as I asked. What is happening?”

Sebastian was surprised to find out that Kimi had let the teen visit him even though Pierre had to be needed for the animal care in the camp.

“An old friend of his is dying, this lady... And it seems that he can’t accept the fact that I can’t do anything to stop it.”

Pierre’s eyebrows furrowed. “Is she ill?”

“Ill?” Sebastian shook his head. “She is just old; her body is at its limits. If death from old age can be considered an illness, yes, she is ill. But I can’t turn back time and Kimi refuses to understand this.”

Pierre looked at the peacefully sleeping lady, thoughtful. “Maybe that’s not the sole thing that he is upset about.”

Sebastian turned to him. “What do you mean?”

Pierre sighed a bit, not sure that he should elaborate, but Sebastian raised an eyebrow at him in question, his whole attention was caught as usual whenever the subject was Kimi.

“He had been watching us whenever Jamie would come and sit with us before this.”

“He has always had an eye on us, what has it got to do with her?”

Pierre’s lips thinned at the blindness of his elder. He should really let the sleeping dogs lie if Sebastian honestly had no idea. “I don’t know.” He lied. “But yesterday afternoon when I was tending his horse, she came to ask about where you were. Kimi was there with me and he was really cold to her. He was this close to actually chase her away. Jamie was baffled at his terseness.”

Sebastian couldn’t believe it, because according to him there was no reasonable cause for this kind of irate behavior. “After learning her condition, Kimi left the house at noon. He was quite shaken. So it simply has to be a coincidence.” He decided.

Pierre didn’t say more on it. Maybe it was for the better if Sebastian didn’t know that he was suspecting Kimi of jealousy. That would turn things awkward and harder for his elder, because Pierre was aware that Sebastian had been trying to avoid Kimi for some reason. It was really curious, because all these happened after Sebastian had met Webber and Jamie.

To change the subject, Pierre talked about the activities of the camp and Sebastian told him about Matsu’s ability. Pierre thought that losing such a person without getting to know her was such a pity, because she was kind enough to hide what she had felt about Sebastian’s power from Kimi, even though Kimi was her long time friend.

As they talked, Sebastian healed the couple of wounds on Pierre’s feet and wrists even though the teen protested, reminding him that he should preserve his energy. “Have you tried the well in this garden, what about it?” He asked, even though he could already guess the answer.

“These wells have been dead for some time, it must have happened gradually due to that dam.” Sebastian explained his theory.

Pierre agreed with him. “The animals are aware that they are in danger. This village will be reclaimed by the desert eventually. And they sense that it’ll happen soon. The new well that they are digging up seems to have disturbed them, Seb. Especially the snakes and scorpions. Be careful, I haven’t seen snakes as venomous as them for quite a while.”

“You people should take care, too.” Sebastian warned. The dig site was closer to the camp than to where Sebastian was and surprisingly, he hadn’t seen any reptile or arachnid in and around Matsu’s estate.

After a while, Pierre left, saying that he’ll visit tomorrow, too. Thankfully, Matsu woke up not long after and he fed her some of the meal that he had cooked. She couldn’t eat much, but at least she had eaten some meat and vegetables.

“You had a visitor?” When she saw how surprised Sebastian was, she smiled. “I was in and out of consciousness a few times, I heard you talking in the distance, but I couldn’t wake up.” She slowly explained. “Though I don’t feel tired, all I want to do is to sleep. I feel like a newborn baby.”

“That is precisely the case, Granny.” Sebastian softly smiled at her and made her drink more water infused with his power.

“It is so peaceful, as if the world is standing still and simply waiting for me to admire it one last time.”

Sebastian nodded at her, trying to hide his sadness. “Granny, do you want to see Kimi?”

“He might get frightened, get sad...” Matsu mumbled sleepily. “Let’s meet him at night, shall we?”

And Sebastian relented even though he doubted that tonight she would be energetic enough to converse with the other.

Matsu was watching the garden and the blue sky, reclining against the tree, mostly silent. But she was sighing deeply every now and then as if she still had some regrets. “This garden will fall to ruin, right?” She asked without expecting an answer, but Sebastian gave her one nonetheless.

“Your neighbors will take care of it, Granny.”

“No, child... You know what I am talking about. The Desert’s sands will fill every nook and cranny. Dust to dust... From whence you came, you’ll return back there, right?”

Sebastian didn’t know what to say, so he did the best thing he could offer. He listened.

“When I was a child, I loved listening to stories about how this desert used to be a rainforest, how there used to be an inland sea in the middle of it. My father would swear on gods that he’d seen skeletons of great sea animals buried in the sand.” She weakly chuckled. “I would try to imagine a dolphin jumping out of the sand and then falling back into it, swimming between the dunes. It was so hard to conjure that idea... How could there be a sea here, a forest... Raining everyday with a sun that does not burn...” She stopped and took several deep breaths.

“How could they believe so adamantly that one day, this desert will crawl back and water will invade and reclaim its sovereignty anew. That the forests will flourish and the sun will be gentle again...” She closed her eyes and smiled. “Such marvelous imagination, hmm?”

“No, Granny, that is a fact.” Sebastian assured, catching her attention. “Life, as you have said before, is a circle. Everything has a beginning and an end. Our lifetimes are tiny specs in time compared to the great machinations of our world. We have chanced upon the sands and the dunes, but some other generations will swim over them just like your dolphin in a future that we’ll be long forgotten.”

Matsu’s eyes widened. “Then I hope that I’ll get reborn into such a future to call it even.” She winked.

Sebastian smiled and wholeheartedly wished the same for his patient.

That night, Matsu fell asleep before Kimi came and woke up only once in two days before the inevitable.

Kimi had never left her side once; so, when she opened her eyes one last time, he was beside her bed. Anxious to do his best for her, he started to babble in a frenzy. "Grandma, do you need anything? Do you need water? Sebastian is out in the garden, but do you need him? Want me to call him for you? Yes… Yes, I should… He knows better than me, just wait a bit, okay?" He tried to get up, but she stopped him.

"I don't need anything, child." She could hardly speak, her voice was tiny. "Just stay here." She patted beside her bed. 

Upon witnessing the difficulty she had in talking, Kimi settled back down and began to cry silently, hoping that she wouldn't be able to see his tears. 

Matsu reached out for him, her bleary eyes blinking up at him slowly. Kimi quickly caught her hand in his own and bit on his lower lip to stop himself from making a noise. 

"Don't be so sad, child." Matsu tried to squeeze his hand, but there was no force behind her hold. "It feels like… It feels like I can't leave, because you hold onto me so dearly." She searched his expression, as if she actually was asking for him to let her go.

Kimi really didn't want to talk, certain that his voice would quake and betray his tears, but Matsu looked at him with those possibly unseeing eyes, the irises already covered with a milky hue, blinding her. He swallowed, took a deep breath and shook his head. "I… I don't know how to do that…" He confessed, his shoulders trembling. "Everyone, everything has always abandoned me… But I can't let go…"

Matsu swallowed at his words, her breath rattling in her chest. "My poor child…" She lamented for him, tears appearing on the corner of her eyes. "All your denial has always been because of this, right?" She nodded at her own words sagely. "But it only hurts you more, Kimi. You have always been very possessive of the things you love, but trying to hold onto them this insistently will only hurt you more. Sometimes you need to let go of the things you love, child."

Those words made Kimi cry harder, because he knew she wasn't only talking about herself, but also about Sebastian. He remembered his words.

_ No matter how much you love them and try to hold onto them, some things are meant to change. Accept this and let her go in peace. _

But the fear of being unwanted, of being thrown aside and abandoned was so strong and crippling that it was a force he couldn't deny. He was aware he was only deepening his own torment by holding on, but… He didn't know how to give up, how to let go. How would a person be able to unclench his fingers around the pieces that made up his own heart? He didn't know.

"Don't cry so hard, Kimi." Matsu tried again. "Nothing that leaves is lost. They all return back to the One. We'll all meet again." She smiled. 

Kimi nodded his head even though he wasn't sure if Matsu could even see it. He tried to dry his tears, but more of them dropped from his eyes. 

"I am so sleepy…" Matsu mumbled and sighed, her feeble hold slacking on Kimi's hand. "Good night, child." 

Kimi sobbed and brought her hand up to place a little kiss of farewell on the back of it. "Good night, Grandma." He swallowed. His mind fleetingly told him how he couldn't see his own grandmother's passing, but he was now given the opportunity to send Matsu off whom he loved maybe as dearly as his own blood. That was at least a bit of a comfort for him. That his dear friend was not alone in her last hours. "Sweet dreams…" He whispered and watched that small smile relax into her sleep.

Sebastian found him like that, with tear swollen eyes and doubled upon himself in grief. He'd guessed Matsu had woken up one last time and he felt glad to realise Kimi and the old lady had that moment all to themselves. 

Knowing the fragility of their situation, Sebastian had already been taking the utmost care. So, he continued cooking meals even though they barely touched them. He cleaned the house quietly and tended the garden as if it was his own. He helped Kimi in looking after Matsu and he eased her troubles and nightmares as she slept.

On the fifth afternoon of their arrival, Matsu's rattling breathing stopped.

Kimi sat there beside her bed until the evening, sleepless with an ashen face, not moving, not crying, not saying anything. He just held her hand and prayed for her soul in his native tongue until Sebastian sat near him and took her hand out from his grasp to cover her face for her final rest. 

Kimi got up and left the house, not even telling his men where he was going.

Sebastian asked the men in wait to call for the neighbor women to prepare Matsu’s body for her burial. He stayed at her home, overseeing the procedure to pay his respects. Since it was now quite well into the night, they were going to bury her in the morning.

After she was ready and people started to come and visit her one last time, one of the women gave him a small pouch, telling him that they had found this under her clothes, tucked near her bosom. He remembered that she had purposefully hidden it there when they had opened the bag of seeds. Guessing that it had to have some meaning for her, he decided to give it to Kimi. But he had to find him first.

Just as he had expected, when Arnall came to the house, he put the shackles back on Sebastian again. Without much explanation, Arnall took him back to the camping site in a hurry, telling him that the villagers would manage the rest. Even though Sebastian asked, the burly man didn’t tell him why Kimi was not at Matsu’s house where he actually should be. Only when they arrived at the camp that Sebastian learned the reason. Kimi hadn’t been seen anywhere since he had left Matsu’s house.

The camp was restless. Men were coming and going with lanterns, even some of the villagers accompanying them in their search. Worried, Sebastian quickly found Pierre, a strange sense of premonition filling his mind.

“Pierre, can you ask the animals?”

“I wanted to join the men in their search, but they didn’t let me, Seb.”

“Come with me.” Sebastian directly went to where he could see Arnall who was managing Kimi’s men.

“Let us go with a group, we can be of help.” He tried to persuade the brusque man.

“Bey told me to always keep an eye on you when he is not here. I can’t let you go.”

“Then come with us. The more people search, the quicker we find him.”

“I have to stay here.” Arnall was unreasonable and Sebastian was getting frustrated by the second, because the bad feeling in his chest was growing. But then he flinched with the voice of the last man he wanted to see coming behind him.

“If so, then I shall keep an eye on them in your stead, Arnall. I want to join the search, too. I am worried for Kimi.”

It was Webber, accompanied by two of his guards, with a fake mask of worry plastered on his face. Sebastian wanted to rub that mug on a jagged rock.

Arnall eyed the tall Bey and nodded, quickly relenting. “If it is with you, it is alright.” He declared even though Sebastian tried to say that they could have been entrusted to someone else. Arnall had made up his mind. “He was last seen going towards the north, most men are heading there.”

Webber put one hand on Sebastian’s shoulder and squeezed it painfully hard as if to remind who the boss was here. “The Healer-boy here will show us the way, thank you.” He spoke with sickly sweet intonation.

Pierre was disturbed by his elder’s discomfort, his body getting tout, instinctively readying himself to attack, but Sebastian stopped him with just a glance. “Yes, let us show you the way, Sir.” He stepped away from the man’s touch, politely bowing his head to keep up the appearances. Then, without waiting for him, Pierre and Sebastian took off, hurrying to the north where the garrison was.

Cursing his luck for being stuck with Webber at such an unfortunate time, Sebastian tried to quell the brewing ache in his stomach and followed Pierre who seemed to move with more purpose. 

Pierre was searching for an animal on their way and Sebastian wondered how they were going to hide the teen’s power from Webber. Then again, he could simply say that Pierre was bought just because of that power of his. Who was Webber to interfere?

“I see you are really worried for him, Healer-boy.” Webber’s voice was quite nonchalant as if he was not searching for a lost person but going for a stroll for the hell of it. “Why is the hurry? You can walk faster than us even with those chains.”

Even though he couldn’t see the taller man, Sebastian could sense the mocking smile on the Bey’s face. “I thought you said you were worried, Sir.”

“Oh, I am, I am... As a friend and business partner of his. But what are you? Under what name are you hurrying to his side?”

The way the older man talked with Sebastian caught Pierre’s whole attention. He glanced at his elder. But Sebastian was just searching around, gnashing his teeth in clear agitation. He didn’t answer in hopes of discouraging the other man, but Webber continued with his taunts.

“No answer, huh? You never cease to amuse me, Healer-boy.” He chuckled and thankfully fell silent for a few minutes as they passed through the village.

Pierre could finally see a couple of small prey birds perched on a roof and he went towards them, looking up at the birds intently. When he stopped to concentrate better, the group stopped, too, not aware of what the teen was doing.

Webber’s face twisted at Pierre, who had to have seemed like a mad man in his eyes. “Hey, why did we stop? Walk.” He ordered.

To give his friend time, Sebastian interfered. “Please wait a bit, he must have realized something.” He turned towards the man who was now smiling at him with an amused glint in his eyes.

“Oh, so you can speak when it's convenient for you.” He sized Sebastian up and down as if seeing him for the first time. “If you want us to go on searching, answer me when I speak.”

Sebastian wanted to strangle the smug man with his bare hands, but alas, he’d be dead before he could rid the world of him. “As you wish, Sir.” He bit just as the birds took flight, one going north and the other to the northeast where the new well was being dug. So Sebastian quickly started to walk again, hoping that Webber didn’t suspect anything.

“The birds will search for him, too.” Pierre whispered and saw Sebastian nod at him in thanks.

“I see that you became good friends with Jamie, the two of you.” Webber was now walking beside Sebastian. “But Kimi seems to be not very fond of her now, even though he was the one who chewed my ear off the whole dinner for her to be healed.”

Eyes widened and troubled more by Webber’s words, Sebastian couldn’t help but ask. “Why do you think so?”

“Think so?” Webber snorted. “Boy, I know  _ so _ . I have ears and eyes everywhere, just like Kimi does. And speaking of him, he really has a good sense of timing, eh? Disappearing right before the funeral of his friend...”

Sebastian bit on his lip, recalling what Pierre had told him about Jamie and Kimi a few days ago. Then, that was no coincidence and Kimi had really been upset with him, too, because of her. But why, he didn’t understand, didn’t have the time to think.

Since most of the people were going to the general direction of where Kimi was last seen, they were joined by other men and fortunately that shut Webber up for now.

One of the birds returned and Pierre dawdled on a bit again to hear it out and Sebastian stopped to pretend to empty his shoe as if there was something in it. Pierre nodded towards the east and Sebastian led them there, a bit mystified to realize that Kimi had gone to the digging site, where there was no populace but only the wilderness.

“The bird says that a stranger was seen coming this direction. I asked her to look for him once more.” Pierre whispered and Sebastian shouted at the men in their vicinity to follow them, that they had a lead. 

More men approached and with the help of the now risen moon, they left the houses behind, now walking among the small shrubs, wild thorny vegetation and pieces of rocks.

“Be careful.” Pierre warned, his eyes alert. “There might be snakes and scorpions. Make enough noise to frighten them away.” And as soon as he finished his words he saw a snake slither away and he stopped in alarm. “That’s bad... That’s really bad...” He whispered for Sebastian’s ears and then he shouted. “Any villagers among us? Anyone?”

A man raised the torch that he was carrying in answer.

“Say, have there been any cases of snake bites or scorpion stings in the village before?”

Understanding dawned on Sebastian when the man stopped and actually looked to be searching his mind to remember.

“Just a few instances, I’d say... But none happened in the houses or the gardens as far as I know.”

That could be because of Matsu’s presence, yet again. And now that she was gone... Sebastian felt physically ill at the thought of what might have happened to Kimi. “Go and warn the villagers. Tell them to be cautious of snakes and scorpions from now on.”

The man looked at them in puzzlement, but when he saw Sebastian’s ashen face, he hastily turned back towards the village.

Now a bit wary of the possible danger that might be lurking around, the men’s advance slowed down, but Sebastian was walking as fast as his chains permitted. His heart started to run a mile when he saw that prey bird lowering onto the ground in front of them a bit to the left and began to chirp in a sharp and distinct way.

Pierre shouted. “He is there!” And everyone broke into a run, except for him and Sebastian who were restricted by their chains.

Sebastian bitterly cursed, tears springing to his eyes with an emotion that he couldn’t even confess to himself.

When they arrived, two people were already jostling Kimi in hopes of waking him up. “No! No, don’t do that, no!” He shouted, immediately falling on his knees near the other, suspecting of a snake bite. “Sit him up, sit him! Gently, don’t move him much, be gentle!” He wasn’t aware that he was shouting.

The men who knew that he was a healer fell back, forming a circle around the ones on the ground, providing illumination and creating space for Sebastian to work.

With shaking hands, Sebastian touched Kimi’s face and with a sharp intake of breath he realized that he had been bitten by a snake, not once but twice. He was too cold with shallow and slow breathing, his heart weak and slow. The earlier tears that had collected in Sebastian’s eyes tumbled down and he painfully bit on the inside of his cheek to control himself when he realized that Kimi was dying. Not even understanding the questions of the surrounding men about how Kimi was in the cacophony of all the noise that the collecting men was creating, Sebastian shouted again to shut them up.

“He has been bitten twice! Now be silent for goodness’sake and let me help him!” He ordered. The urgency in his tone and the fury on his face killed the whole noise as if he was not a slave but a Bey in his own right. He grimaced, his mind swirling at the creeping death that he could sense crawling within Kimi.

He could tell that Kimi had been in this situation for at least three hours and it was a miracle that he was still alive. Sebastian had no choice, he couldn’t treat something like this with the primitive medicine he had about and he couldn’t risk Kimi losing his life. He shared a look with Pierre and then put his hands over the weakly beating heart of the other, closing his eyes. 

He focused on Kimi’s core, reaching out for him, suddenly hit by a strange feeling as if he had treated Kimi before. It was not about the time he had healed the collarbone of the other. Because then, he hadn’t reached to Kimi’s core, but used only his own power to mend the damage. This was a nostalgic feeling as if Sebastian had known how it felt like delving deep into Kimi’s core and filtering it with his own to purify it. 

Normally, Sebastian hated using his own life force and core to cure others, because it depleted him immensely both physically and mentally, leaving him weak and vulnerable for days to come. But he was using himself up willingly now.

For the onlookers, it looked like Sebastian was in a trance of sorts, not doing anything, just sitting there when in fact Sebastian was using his own energy to replenish Kimi’s, finding the spark of life within his core and helping it to drive the death away before it crept and nestled in Kimi completely.

The venom of the snake was potent and Kimi had lost a good amount of blood due to one of the bites being on a vein. Sebastian mended the wounds that were located on his left feet, saving it from certain disfigurement due to necrosis. He restored the health of the collapsing organs, beads of sweat trailing down his skin even in the coolness of the desert night. When the venom was cleaned from Kimi’s body completely, Sebastian mended his nervous system, feeling that Kimi’s breathing returned to normal and his heart regained its strength.

Now, Kimi was as good as if this had never happened and Sebastian was unashamedly happy for saving the other's life. His own heartbeat turning shallow, Sebastian opened his eyes, but he couldn’t see anything. A bout of extreme fatigue hit his head like a ton of bricks. He groaned in misery and felt being caught by someone just as he was falling back to the ground. He could hear nothing even though the men were creating a ruckus this time over him. His face and hands were going numb as if prickled with hundreds of pins and needles. His nape and shoulders were getting stiff in a painful way that would make an ordinary man cry in agony. But he couldn’t even make a sound, trusting Pierre to take care of him before he lost his consciousness.

* * *

The next time Sebastian opened his eyes was two days after the events of Kimi’s disappearance. 

He was completely disoriented with a queasy stomach and a horrible headache, his whole body throbbing in unison with ache and exhaustion. He thought that if he’d move an inch he’d throw up even though his stomach had been empty for several days now. 

Pierre was with him and he tried to help him with a stricken and worried face even though this was not the first time he had seen him in this state.

“How many days?” He asked, clenching his teeth.

“You have been out two whole days, Seb.” The teen answered, sleepless but happy to see him awake.

That was longer than the other times that he had to use his power. His lips twisted into a miserably fake smile. “How lucky...” He drawled; only now realizing how much of himself he had to burn to save Kimi. “How is he?”

“As good as new...” Pierre bit, contempt lacing his voice. “He woke up in the morning of that night. Just a bit tired and anemic, that’s all. He was even able to attend that lady’s funeral.”

Even in his state, Sebastian could tell that Pierre was angry and on the edge, so he changed the subject. “Where are we?”

“We didn’t move out of the village. Kimi insisted to stay until you wake up and get back on your feet. He ordered his men to prepare this tent for us.”

Sebastian looked around, frowning a bit. “He’ll have to wait at least two more days if he really wants to see me back on my feet.” He grimaced and took a deep breath in hopes of settling his stomach.

“That probably won’t happen. Men say that they had planned to stay here for only three days before these things happened. Now we are on the night of the seventh day and as it seems, we will only be able to leave tomorrow afternoon if we can finish loading the animals by then. Everyone is so restless.”

“So you are, Pierre… What happened?” Sebastian finally asked what was on his mind.

The teen scratched at his face in a show of frustration, worrying Sebastian more. “The camp is abuzz with gossip of all kinds. People are fascinated by what you have done there. Especially Webber...”

Even the mention of the Bey made Sebastian’s hair stand on end, but this result had been inevitable. “He really was about to die, Pierre. I had no choice.”

Pierre’s face took on a serious countenance that he rarely assumed. “I am not questioning your verdict on that matter, but you really weren't yourself that night, Seb. I have seen you treat fatal things like this before, but the only time you acted like this was when Fabian fell from that small cliff onto the rocks and bled from his mouth.”

Sebastian averted his eyes from the teen’s honest ones, recalling his reaction to his baby brother's accident. “I accept that I acted out of character, but...”

Pierre interrupted him. “No, that was exactly your true character that you could no longer hide there, Seb. Don’t try to cover it.” He looked at his elder’s bewildered face before Sebastian turned his head away in shame. “And the way that Bey spoke to you... I know what he was insinuating back there and it is high time that you should face it yourself, too.”

Sebastian sighed and closed his eyes, taking long and deep breaths to calm himself. “You used to be wary of speaking your mind before me to not anger me.” He smiled ruefully. “Now I miss those days.”

“A good retainer always speaks the truth even when he knows he might anger his lord.” Pierre told him. “And I am trying to be one.”

For a moment, Sebastian lay there silently, unable to put his thoughts and emotions in an order. He simply didn’t have the energy. “You are good to me, Pierre. Both as a retainer and as a friend.” He commended him. “I’ll do as you say, but first, I really want to sleep.” He mumbled, having difficulty in keeping himself awake.

Pierre nodded and helped Sebastian drink a little water. Even though he offered him to bring some soup, Sebastian refused and quickly fell asleep again.

Pierre continued his watch. He had been released of his duties in the camp by Kimi and he looked after Sebastian well thanks to him. Even though the other youth had stayed beside Sebastian as much as he could, clearly upset and very worried, Pierre did not inform him of Sebastian regaining his consciousness. He knew it was heartless of him, but Sebastian needed to rest now, not more trouble added to his mind by talking to Kimi. Sebastian was in a completely vulnerable state and it was Pierre’s duty to protect his physical as well as mental health.

It had been truly unfortunate for Sebastian to be forced to cure Kimi from certain death in front of so many people. The camp had been talking about Sebastian nonstop. Kimi’s men were now completely fascinated by Sebastian, since most of them had already been cured by his handmade medicine before. 

Kimi seemed to be disturbed by everyone's interest, too, because everyone, including Webber’s group, was making guesses about why Sebastian was chained like this when he had such a useful talent. 

Most men thought that Sebastian’s power deserved respect, so he should be unchained. But they also said that even before Sebastian had showcased his ability, he had cost a hundred gold pieces. Now that people found out about his immense talent, he would cost a fortune and no one would like to lose an asset like him after their life was saved by him.

Pierre guessed that Kimi was keeping silent about this because he wanted the buzz to die down by itself to not attract more unwanted attention, but if the push came to the shove, he could easily order the men to shut up. Kimi’s lot was fiercely loyal and they’d obey. But what about Webber’s group?

Webber was really dangerous and Pierre had loathed him thoroughly when he had seen the hungry and calculating look that the man had in his eyes. 

He wondered why he was letting Jamie visit Sebastian even after Kimi had clearly shown her that he wasn’t happy with seeing her around their side of the camp. The poor girl had come to the tent twice to ask about Sebastian’s condition, but she could only stay for a few minutes in fear of angering Kimi. Maybe watching her and Kimi was entertaining Webber, so the twisted man was simply not interfering to amuse himself, Pierre thought. He had to be either really sadistic or really bored to derive pleasure from such circumstances and Pierre suspected that Webber had a lethal mix of the two.

* * *

In the morning of the eight day in the village, Kimi was overseeing the men getting packed up. He had sent Arnall to the garrison to deal with the paperwork, choosing to stay in the camp to remind everyone that he was out and about, so they should do their job instead of running their mouths. It seemed to do the trick, because now everyone was busy with loading their cargo and the provisions that they bought from the village people.

Kimi was still dizzy due to the blood loss from the bite wounds, but work was good. Because if there had been nothing to do, he knew that he’d spent all his time beside Sebastian even though Pierre made him feel that he wasn’t wanted anywhere near the younger man. 

He could understand the teen’s contempt towards him, because his foolishness was what had put Sebastian in his current state. He couldn’t forgive himself for it and was aware that he had no right to expect forgiveness from Sebastian or his friend, either.

What Sebastian had done for him, even his mind was unable to comprehend it truly. 

That night, he had been walking outside of the village blinded by his mourning, not paying attention to where he stepped on. The next thing he'd known that he was screaming on the ground after the lightning flash of pain that zapped into his flesh twice from his left leg. 

Kimi had been bitten before a few times as if the snakes had a thing to duke out with him whenever they chanced upon him. But none of those bites had hurt this much possibily due to those snakes being of less dangerous kinds. And he had been lucky enough to experience them with a company near him where they had access to antivenom made from horse blood. But there, he had quickly realized that he was done for, because he had not said where he was going to anyone, and his leg had already gone numb even though it had felt like he had stepped into boiling oil. 

He'd tried to get up, to get away from there, mindful of the snake. But it was impossible, because his whole world had narrowed down into a load of agony and torment. Then, he had believed that he was going to die there and with some luck people would find his body in the morning before wild animals could take a few bites off of him.

He had internally laughed at his predicament, knowing that Matsu would be so angry with him had she known what had happened to him because of his own carelessness and weakness. But she was no longer there to do that, not even Sebastian. And the idea had hurt Kimi more than the venom that coursed through his body.

He could remember that until the moment he had lost his consciousness, he had held onto the possibility of being found by Sebastian, not because he had believed that his life would be saved by him somehow, but because he really wanted to see those soulful eyes of his one last time. Now when he thought about it, something within his chest was tightening painfully, but he loved the feeling.

It was such a pity that all he could recall about that night was a dream that he had seen, much of which was forgotten when he had regained his consciousness. 

In that dream, he didn’t have a corporal body, he only existed. But his existence was painful and he wished for death. And then he was washed, not with physical water, no. His very essence was ridden from the pain. The death that was trying to seep into his core was untangled knot by knot, leaving him just as he had been before, as if nothing had happened to him, as if he had not just been lost in a world of pain.

Even though he thought that the dream was just a trick of his clouded mind, the moment that he had woken up, he knew that it had been Sebastian who had rescued him from certain death. But when he had seen at what cost this had happened, he couldn’t feel happy for being saved. 

Pierre had been tightlipped about why Sebastian was like that and he had told him that nothing could be done for the healer, except for letting him rest. So Kimi tried to provide him the best rest that he could offer by giving them a tent and sending in good food and fresh milk frequently. But it had to end tonight, because they had to leave the village by the nightfall. 

Webber’s group didn’t have to wait for them, but the other Bey did so out of courtesy, genuine or not. And they had fallen behind their schedule. 

He had sent his hawk to Nico to inform him of what had happened here, so he believed that Nico would rearrange his group’s pace, too. They planned to walk without stopping until the next day’s nightfall, so Sebastian was going to ride on a horse with Pierre. He could already imagine what others might think when they’d see the two slaves were given a horse, but he couldn’t care less.

When the last meal was cooked over the campfire and he ate his share, Kimi took a bowl of soup and bread and went to the last standing tent, Sebastian and Pierre’s. 

The teen silently gazed up at him, understanding his intent, but he didn’t leave.

“You might want to get your dinner and then ready a horse for you and Sebastian to travel on.” Kimi offered, trying to act non threatening. 

After Pierre complied to him reluctantly and left the tent, Kimi sat beside Sebastian who was sleeping as if he had been knocked out of consciousness. There were dark circles under the healer’s eyes and his face was gaunt with a sickly color about it. He looked as if he was about to die and Kimi clenched his teeth at the idea. He was loath to wake him up, but he had to. They were about to leave the camp within a few hours.

He called the healer’s name a few times, more loudly each time; but when Sebastian didn’t wake up, Kimi jostled him a bit from his shoulder in fear for his life.

Sebastian blinked into wakefulness with a miserable groan, his head swirling, his stomach lurching. “Ahhh, please kill me!” His hands shot up to his head as if he could physically stop his nausea.

“Sebastian, it is me.”

That voice helped him to reorient himself when he realized that Kimi was with him. He took a few deep breaths and gulped dryly as if he could swallow his stomach back before he was able to open his eyes and look at him. “Morning to you, too.” He grimaced, not feeling friendly even a bit.

“I am sorry for shaking you, but I called your name many times and you didn’t even stir.”

“No wonder, because I am half dead.” Sebastian didn’t know why he was being antagonistic even after he saw and heard the worry on Kimi’s face and voice.

“I am sorry.” Kimi apologized again, not hiding the guilt he felt from reflecting in his eyes. “But I had to wake you up. We’ll be on the road again within a few hours and you should eat something.”

When Sebastian saw how tormented Kimi’s pale eyes were, he sobered up, letting go of his needless ire. “So, it is already evening...” He turned his eyes away from Kimi’s, unable to look at the unique mix of guilt, fear, hope and gladness that played on the other’s face. “Where is Pierre?” He asked, hoping to erase that strange show of emotion from the other male’s features.

“Gone out to have his dinner and arrange a horse for the two of you.” Kimi didn’t get upset over receiving the cold shoulder from Sebastian, since he believed that he deserved it. “And I brought some soup for you.”

Sebastian knew that he really should eat if he wanted to get better as soon as possible, but he wasn’t sure if his stomach could keep it down. “My medicine bag... Can you find it?” There was a vial of some strong antiemetic herb extract in it, Sebastian hoped that it would help.

Kimi quickly found and brought it to Sebastian’s side. Realizing that the healer was trying to get up, he put a hand under Sebastian’s shoulders as he cradled the back of his head with the other, not aware that he had stunned Sebastian into complete silence and stillness.

Wide eyed, Sebastian couldn’t even protest when his body was hauled into a sitting position by warm gentle hands carefully. Even though Kimi had lifted him up slowly, Sebastian’s whole world shifted and narrowed down into Kimi’s touch and smell. If he had been healthier, he’d been red to the tips of his ears, but all he could do was to whimper as an extreme feeling of vertigo hit him and he clung onto Kimi’s chest as if his life depended on it.

Alarmed by Sebastian’s distress, Kimi cradled him to his chest like a child. “Sorry, I'm sorry.” He clenched his teeth. “I just wanted to help.” He could feel Sebastian trembling against him and it only added to the guilt he felt.

“I know...” Sebastian bit between his teeth. “It is alright.” He had no choice but to let his nausea subside in Kimi’s arms, because he neither had the energy nor the will to get away from the sunshine smelling embrace. He leaned his head into the crook of Kimi's neck and his body relaxed into the welcoming arms. He closed his eyes, sleep ready to claim him yet again, but he resisted. “This is bad...” He mumbled. “You're so comfy, I want to sleep like this.” He wasn’t aware that Kimi was watching him above with open marvel in his eyes.

“You can...” Kimi was barely stopping himself from touching Sebastian’s hair. He didn’t even care how matted and wet it was due to sweating. He just didn’t want to let Sebastian go after hearing that he trusted him enough to want to sleep in his arms.

“But I can’t. I need to eat and pack up and clean myself. I have so much to do.” Sebastian smiled dejectedly, both at his current situation and at how ready he was to stay like that forever if only Kimi would hold him securely like this.

“Then you should start somewhere.” Kimi offered with a small smile of his own. With great reluctance, he let Sebastian go and helped him sit straight. Putting the tray on the healer's lap, he opened the bag of medicines and gave the vial of a crème colored liquid that Sebastian pointed at.

Sebastian poured a bit of the medicine into his soup and tried to eat as best as he could, not willing to go through the humiliation and embarrassment of being fed by Kimi. As he fed himself, Kimi was silently folding the clothes and whatnot around the tent, both to keep himself occupied and to create a reason to stay longer. 

“You shouldn’t do that. You are a Bey.” Sebastian believed that Kimi was helping him in order to satisfy his own need to silence his conscience. He knew that the other was feeling guilty for putting Sebastian in this situation, but there was no need to feel like that even though Sebastian thought that Kimi was a good man for having a conscience enough to help and apologize to a slave.

“I do this, because I want to.” Kimi went about his work, meticulously arranging Pierre and Sebastian’s meager belongings. “Not because I feel guilty, or anything.” He explained, and then perked up and looked back at Sebastian. “I feel guilty, but this is not about it. I just wanted to be here. Beside you...”

This time, Sebastian had to be the one to avert his eyes, because damn that Kimi, he could say the most embarrassing stuff with such a straight and honest face that Sebastian felt embarrassment in his stead, too. Not knowing what to say, he hung his head and ate more of his soup and bread, but now there was a soft smile on his face.

Kimi hadn’t been expecting an answer. Sebastian had the right to not believe him even though it hurt a bit. “And I wanted to thank you for looking after Grandma.” He changed the subject. “I am truly glad that she was content and happy in her last days thanks to you.”

Sebastian blinked at him, swallowing. “No, it was you.” He corrected him. “She was so glad that seeing you must have eased her passing away.” Kimi seemed to feel bad about it, too. “Don’t blame yourself for not being able to spend more time with her. She knew that you had responsibilities, that you were sad and angry.” Upon his last words Kimi hung his head, his eyes narrowing down in what Sebastian correctly guessed as self contempt.

“You were angry at yourself for being unable to help her, but you were also angry at me. I know you still are, deep down inside.” When Kimi visibly stiffened at but not rejected what he had said, Sebastian smiled ruefully. “I guess you can’t understand how someone who can save you from certain death was unable to help a good woman.” He could clearly see that same shadow of doubt on Kimi’s face, painted with hurt and helplessness. Sebastian wanted to soothe away that hurt and erase that pain from those eyes, but he really couldn’t do that unless he’d explain what he actually was. And he’d never do that, not as long as he was a slave.

“What I did for you, is to use my own energy to feed your life source that had depleted. When I put my hands on someone, I can sense a spark in them, in their core.” He tried to explain, without divulging much. “Yours was bright, still struggling to keep on, because it was not your time to go. So I just poured my own life into you, using it to refuel your spark and filter your ailment with my own life force to purify yours so that it can return to its earlier state of stability.”

Kimi was all ears and his eyes had that unnatural spark in them now. Sebastian internally swore at himself, but he decided that telling this to Kimi was a better option than him doubting that Sebastian had not done his best.

“When I touched Granny, that spark had already been about to extinguish.” He continued. “Kimi, you should understand that old age can’t be cured, time can’t be reversed. When your preordained time comes, you have to go. If I had done the thing I did for you to Granny, I would have disrupted the natural course of the things. Her mind would have eventually died, because her core would have reached to its limits. Those two are connected and together they make up what we call as us. But Kimi, her body would have lived on as an empty shell because of the fuel of life I would have poured in her. I can’t interfere with destiny. If I sense that a person’s time is meant to stop there, I step down. But as long as I see a spark, I do all I can.”

In all honesty and with every sense of the word, Kimi was fascinated by Sebastian. He was speechless and couldn’t take his eyes away from him even though Sebastian had already broken their eye contact and was now looking down at his bowl of soup as if trying to hide in it. 

But Kimi should have been the one to hide, really. He should have felt ashamed for doubting that Sebastian might discriminate between people even after witnessing how he had tried to cure a criminal. He should have just stop ruining Sebastian’s life and let him go, really. But gods help him, he couldn’t, his chest hurt with the intensity of his self abhorrence, but he couldn’t.

Matsu’s words rang in his ears, mercilessly accusing him of being unjust, being dishonest, and being deceptive. But here he was, swallowing down all her well made claims, completely unable to find a way out of his own swamp of emotions. All he could think was that here he was, the revered and feared sun, who could burn even a person down into a piece of coal with just a touch of his hand or a word from his mouth. But he was unable to reflect the life giving aspects of his power even when the spirits under his will could do so. He was so weak and useless, filled with selfishness as a shield against his fears. But Sebastian was... Sebastian was the complete opposite of him. 

His heart was big enough to donate his own life to others, risking being on the verge of death himself, just to save them. How could he not be fascinated by someone like him? How could he let Sebastian go when Sebastian was all what he wished to be like? The twinge of jealousy within his heart only fed his fear of abandonment, yet not even that feeling was enough to persuade him to be true to himself or to Sebastian like Matsu had advised him to be.

“I... I am sorry for doubting you.” His voice cut the uncomfortable silence like a knife. “I wasn’t thinking straight. I took my frustration out on you.”

Hearing that, Sebastian sighed silently as if a heavy weight was lifted from his shoulders. He was unable to meet the intent eyes of the other, but he smiled softly. “You have apologized to me four times today, this's a record.” He pointed out.

Not even a hundred apologies could cover the guilt that Kimi had dug himself into. “It seems, it is all I can do well since the day we met.” If only the healer knew the true reason for his apologies...

“But at least your face has a larger range of emotions to show now. That’s an improvement.” Sebastian chuckled weakly at the unguarded look of confusion on Kimi’s face before he schooled his features back into his usual look of serious aloofness.

_ If only you knew... _ Kimi thought, hiding his sorrow by finding solace in Sebastian’s mirth.  _ I wonder how much you’d hate me then. _

-

_ TBC... _


	11. Chapter 11

Being able to get cleaned after so long felt so good for Sebastian even though he would have preferred to do so with a little bit more privacy, not together with some other men who wanted to use the waters of the well one last time. Sebastian had no idea when their next stop with an abundance of water like this would be, so he made the utmost use of it thanks to Pierre's help.

Kimi had spared them a fine horse. This preferential treatment could have caused displeased grunts among the men, but now everyone knew how talented and thus how valuable Sebastian was. Nothing was more normal than keeping your assets well, right?

Sebastian did not care, because he felt as if he was being slowly dragged through hell. Even though Pierre had asked the horse to be extra careful and gentle with Sebastian, the ride was a torment. His head swam and he wanted to sleep on a horizontal surface, not on the back of a walking horse, trying not to fall off of it each time he was jostled awake and corrected his hunched posture. 

He really needed the help of an Arank. Trying to get well after how he had spent his all resources required some well resting and feeding, and currently he had none of it. But if he could just swim in an alive water body, then he’d be as good as new. He wanted to ask Kimi where they were headed to, but he didn’t want to explain the reason for his question. Then again, he wasn’t awake much and during his waking hours all he was able to do was to eat, clean up and share a few words with Pierre and Jamie if the girl could feel brave enough to visit him under her master’s and Kimi’s imperceptible but watchful gaze.

Tonight marked the twenty-fifth night of their travel and the fourth of their departure from the village. Sebastian was feeling a little bit better now. At least, his stomach was settled and he could eat and drink his entire share, even the bits of fruit and dried meat pieces that Pierre was giving him every now and then. He knew that Kimi was providing them to his friend discreetly and truth be told, Sebastian was thankful for it because his body needed good food when he was recuperating.

The caravan was now resting under a blanket of stars, hidden between high dunes; the semi fertile but arid and dusty lands of that village was now just a memory. People were silently eating their fill and Pierre was tending the animals, having returned to his duties. Huddled against one of the silk bales, Sebastian was watching the camp, more precisely, Kimi... 

The other youth was walking among the resting animals, listening to a man talking. They were away, so Sebastian couldn’t understand what they were saying, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from him. Since the night of their departure, they didn’t have another chance to talk, but Sebastian wanted to give him that pouch of seeds that Matsu had hidden.

He was aware that the seeds were just an excuse, but Sebastian couldn’t help it. Pierre would be so disappointed with him had he known about his desire and the idea constricted Sebastian’s chest with unease and guilty conscience.

Just then, Kimi’s face turned towards him and even across that distance, he spotted Sebastian.

Kimi raised a hand to his way as if in salutation and Sebastian’s eyes widened, realizing that he had been caught while he was ogling the other. Unable to look on anymore, he turned away, burrowing deeper into his cover as if he could disappear within it. He refused to turn that way until he was sure that Kimi had passed by him and walked away. He was startled by a voice coming from that side.

“Are you falling in love with him?”

The question hit him so unexpectedly that Sebastian lost his balance for a moment and struggled with his cover, sputtering indignantly. “What? No... Of course, not!” He refused rather heatedly and turned back to find Jamie sitting there, calmly observing him.

“You can’t take your eyes away from him, I saw you.” She accused serenely and watched the colour rise on his cheeks. “Oh, so you now have enough blood to get flushed. I guess you are getting better.” She observed with the same infuriatingly dispassionate eyes of hers.

Opening and closing his mouth at her like a fish, Sebastian couldn’t come up with anything to refute her claim, completely thrown off by her bluntness. But then, he saw that minuscule smile tugging at her lips and he frowned at her in mock anger. “You have such a strange taste in humor, Jamie.” He berated her.

She was now looking smugly at Sebastian, enjoying his reaction even though she didn’t show it much. Jamie really liked to stun them with her straightforward and collected attitude. It was as if they were small kids and Jamie was enjoying herself at their expense and Sebastian really didn’t mind it. He even found it cute. But sometimes she could be quite persistent when he would prefer her not to be.

“You should be aware that you are not a good liar. If you want me to believe you, you can start by looking not totally smitten with him whenever he is around.”

“Jamie...” Sebastian could have done without hearing that.

“You look confused and that’s a fatal weakness in a desert.” She held his eyes in serious warning. “Make up your mind and heart about him. He is not even your master. Now, where does that put you two at?”

Sebastian grimaced, his teeth gnashing in his frustration. “Why have you come here? To torment me?” He was upset now, but with himself, not with the girl.

“To be the voice of common sense.” She was utterly nonplussed by his dourness.

“You have a sadistic streak, you know that?”

“Living with that prick for so long must have rubbed some of it on me.” Jamie shrugged, appearing guileless. Then she turned serious again. “Webber talks about you on and on. He finds your situation hilarious, falling for a free man, risking your life to save his...”

“Oh, come on...” Sebastian was still denying and making a show of it by rolling his eyes at her. But she raised a hand and silenced him, not fooled.

“He won’t shut up about it. He is quite taken with your healing powers. And he thinks I am in love with you.”

At that, Sebastian resisted flinching, but he had to ask. “Are you?”

Jamie looked at him as if she was deciding what to say. “You are a good man, Sebastian. You are really handsome.” She confessed, but there was no trace of the embarrassment one would expect to see on a girl confessing to a man. “Yes, I like you, but I’ll settle for your friendship.”

“Why?”

“Because nobody had cared about me enough to get hurt in my stead and called me their friend before...”

Sebastian didn’t know if he should feel relieved or sad at what she had told him. He was relieved, because he saw her as a good friend and he was sad, because she apparently really liked him enough to just wish for his friendship.

“And you are in the middle of falling for someone else. I don’t want to disrupt the process.” She had that tiny mocking smile on her lips again.

“You really are angering me.” He narrowed his eyes down at her in warning, but he was faking it and she knew it. Yet making light of the matter didn’t solve Sebastian’s problem.

“I am also not counting the fact that Kimi Bey might kill me for coming here every night.” She reminded him of Kimi’s earlier terseness with her.

“I don’t know how he could behave like that towards someone he had helped before.” Sebastian murmured to himself.

This time, Jamie looked at him as if she was seeing something extraordinary. "You are either too naive or too sheltered.” She shook her head at his indignant expression. 

“I am not!” He didn’t want to listen to the rest, because hearing it from someone else was just going to solidify it and he couldn’t continue ignoring it anymore.

“Sebastian, he doesn’t want me around you because he is jealous.” Jamie said it easily. “And I wonder if he’ll act on it anytime soon.”

Sebastian frowned and breathed as if he was fed up with the whole world. “You don’t know him. How can you make such an assumption?” He was drawing his last straw, mentally strained by the things that Jamie was reminding him with good intentions.

“Do I need to know someone personally to recognize jealousy or love in them? Do you? You sense it, too, don’t you? And you are more afraid of his feelings than yours, aren’t you?” She nailed down his fears with perfect precision.

“Even though I am younger than you, you can’t even imagine what kind of tragedies I’ve witnessed in this godforsaken desert. Don’t lose your sight and turn into one of those tragedies, okay?”

The two of them knew each other for not more than two weeks, but Jamie could read him so well. It was either because she had a great sense of intuition or Sebastian was too obvious for anyone to see like an open book. It was disquieting, but at the same time liberating, because he didn’t have to struggle with his circumstances and feelings alone. Jamie and Pierre understood him and were together with him.

“Thank you.” He whispered and the girl nodded without looking at him, maybe to give Sebastian some time to digest what she had said.

“He really is a good guy, though. And very handsome at that...” She was playing with the sand. “But a master is a master and a slave is a slave just like you have said before. They can never be equals.”

That summarized the reason for Sebastian's self abhorrence. He couldn’t blame this on Kimi no matter how much he’d like to be angry at him to easily discard these growing feelings from his heart, but he was not his master.

Sebastian doubted that a Bey would have any qualms about taking a slave as his thrall if he liked or fancied them enough, but in his heart of hearts Sebastian wanted to believe that Kimi was above such a base train of thought. But then what? Sebastian asked himself. If Sebastian had been actually just a simple slave and Kimi was really in love with him, would he buy him off of Nico? Would he set him free and offer him to be with him? Why couldn’t Sebastian be sure of this happening had the circumstances permitted? Would a Bey actually want a lover standing as his equal who had been freed from slavery?

He shook his head, realizing that he was getting ahead of himself. There was no need for him to speculate about this. He neither belonged to someone nor planned to stay as a slave long enough to find out if Kimi fitted to his unreasonable expectations of him. Kimi was a good man just as Jamie had said, but Sebastian wondered how much of that nicety would remain if he’d learn who Sebastian actually was.

“You think too much. I get tired of watching you eat yourself up over this.” Jamie’s voice helped him return to the present. “Here, hard candies from the guy that you gave a remedy the other day.” She handed him a small bottle filled with white pieces of confectionary. “He says his cramps are gone.”

Sebastian looked at the bottle with forlorn eyes. “If only everything was simple as these, huh?” He lamented a bit, but smiled when he saw her opening her hand and waiting for him to give her some candy with a smug expression on her face.

“Then, stop overthinking and get better soon.”

She was right.

* * *

The next day, Sebastian felt better enough to stay awake and ride his horse by himself during the duration of their walk. Watching the unchanging scenery of the bright yellow dunes could have put him to sleep if it weren’t for Kimi’s unexpected company.

Sometime in the late afternoon, the other youth came to the tail end of the caravan where Sebastian and Pierre were. He was also riding his horse, the animals trotting side by side and following the camels before them.

He told Sebastian that Arnall wasn’t feeling alright and asked him if he could take a look at his right hand man in the evening when they’d stop. Sebastian offered to help now, if the silent man felt unable to continue their walk, but Kimi assured him that Arnall would hate it if the order of the caravan would be disrupted because of him. Sebastian relented and rode on, checking his mental list of herbs and remedies in his bag and what he would need for Arnall, because now he really couldn’t effort to use his own power to heal anyone unless it was something life threatening. Then, he realized that Kimi was still riding beside him, his eyes not on the road but on him, scrutinizing Sebastian as if he was contemplating on something.

“You look better now, but if it will put a strain on you, Arnall can wait.” Kimi offered, misunderstanding Sebastian’s earlier silence.

“It is fine. I won’t use my own energy. I’ll just help his life force find its way and give him the proper medicine to aid his healing.”

Kimi’s face took on a thoughtful expression and his eyes lost their focus. He was remembering something. “What you did to my collarbone... It was the same with the one at the village, right?”

Sebastian shook his head. “In Nefer, I used your own energy to quicken the healing, inserting just a bit of my own into it. So, it was a prolonged healing process. But in that village, I used my own core energy to filter yours."

“You could have made it as good as new on the first night, then.” He correctly guessed. “Why didn’t you do it like that?”

Sebastian saw no ill intent in the question, he could see that Kimi was really just curious. “Would you have done that if you had been in my shoes?”

Kimi’s green eyes caught his gaze and he shook his head, being honest. “Then, you could have healed Pierre as quickly as my collarbone...”

“Yes, but then I’d fall ill just like how I did in your case. I hate being vulnerable.” Sebastian explained. “I heal in different ways, Kimi. Illnesses and all other ailments damage the flow of life within the body and put the core of the person in several degrees of chaos. For minor things, I simply tweak with the life essence of the person, help it to return its normal ways and his core energy to stabilize. Then the body fights the ailment better and quicker than when the person would be left untouched. I immediately cure the infections or hemorrhaging if I chance upon them. But mostly, I just show the easiest and the quickest route to life, not interfere with it.”

“Sometimes things need a bit more of my own energy. But I do that in a way to preserve most of it to function properly later on. What I did for you... I never do unless the person is in immediate danger of death, but still have a spark burning bright. I use nearly all my energy and purify the person with my own core, battling death in their stead. That is like a small death for me, because I become totally vulnerable and as I said before, I hate that feeling the most.”

“Then you could have hidden that power and let me die.”

Sebastian’s head snapped towards where Kimi was, his eyes wide, his mouth slack.

“Wouldn’t it be easier if you have left me to death? You could have even escaped, taking advantage of the turmoil that my death would create.”

It was as if Kimi was thinking aloud. Sebastian tried to see if he was being calculative, if he was trying to get a rise out of him, but Kimi looked very genuine in his suggestion as if he actually couldn’t understand how Sebastian had chosen to save him instead of doing what he speculated.

“Would you leave me to death then, if our positions were reversed?”

Now that caused Kimi’s head to whip towards Sebastian, his eyes wide with alarm. “Never.” He said with solid conviction, fearful that Sebastian might have misunderstood him.

Seeing that fear and hearing that conviction zinged through Sebastian’s chest in a painfully sweet way, but he ignored it.

“That is also my answer, Kimi.” He confessed and felt strangely elated to witness the other youth's happy and crooked smile.

* * *

While the dinner was being prepared, Kimi and Sebastian were beside Arnall.

Kimi was relieved to learn that Arnall had just tired his liver and stomach and should stop drinking and smoking and eat well. He helped his loyal man to lie down and watched Sebastian explain the older man how to use the two medicines that he had given. Now Kimi could tell when Sebastian had used some of his own energy on a patient, because the yellowish color that had spread over Arnall’s skin a few days ago was now gone. Kimi suspected that Arnall had caught something while they were in the village.

When Sebastian finished his work and looked at him tiredly, they left the ill man to his rest, walking a bit away towards one of the fires that the men had built to boil water for coffee and tea.

“Bad news, Kimi... I didn’t want to say this while we were among the men, but Arnall has hepatitis.” Sebastian sat down before the fire wearily, his earlier good mood now totally gone.

“That is infectious, right?” Kimi guessed correctly, his face hardening at the news. “What are we going to do when you are like this?” He didn’t hide his worry from Sebastian.

The two sat there for a while, thinking.

“I really doubt that he has contacted it while we were in the village. It has only been twelve days since our arrival there and I have never seen people showing the symptoms before twenty to thirty days after they contact it.” Sebastian reasoned.

“So you are saying Arnall had it before then? What? From Nefer?” Kimi was a bit panicky now. If it really was Nefer, then maybe they were all carrying the illness, waiting for their turn to fall sick with it.

“Relax...” Sebastian assured him. “His liver was in such a condition that he evidently had this long before then, years even... Some types of this illness reoccur again and never go away or get cured completely. Arnall’s condition is probably like that. I have already stopped the infection.”

“But, there is a possibility that it could spread among the men, right?”

Sebastian could have patted Kimi’s shoulder to reassure him, but it would be like giving false hope and he also didn’t want to risk getting burnt. “I have to check everyone discreetly. We wouldn’t want to frighten people.”

“But if there are more infected people, what then?” Kimi was worried of Sebastian’s already frail health. “You look as if you are about to collapse after tending to Arnall. I can never make you do that.”

Sebastian’s chest warmed and he felt happy at Kimi’s thoughtful consideration, but he brushed away the feeling even though he liked it. “I have to do it or we’ll be risking everyone’s even the animals’ health and your caravan might even be put under quarantine in the next city you plan to arrive.”

Kimi rubbed a hand on his face and sighed in frustration. “This is really unfortunate.” He mumbled to himself, his gaze troubled.

Sebastian watched Kimi from the corner of his eye, realizing that the other was openly showing more emotion now. “This is completely unrelated, but are you aware that lately you have been displaying more emotion?” He couldn’t stop himself from asking.

Alerted, Kimi actually caught himself making a distressed face, complete with a frown and a downturned mouth. Instinctively, he erased that expression and his usual unreadable look returned. But what Sebastian had observed about him made him realize something. “Nobody had pointed it out before. So, I guess I am only like this when I am with you.”

Blood rose to Sebastian’s face so quickly that Sebastian wasn’t sure if he was able to turn away before Kimi could see it. He remembered Jamie’s claims about Kimi liking him and his flush darkened with the memory.

“Are you alright?” Kimi tried to have a better look at the healer, but Sebastian’s face was turned aside and his shoulders hunched as if he was going to be sick.

 _You dug your own grave._ Sebastian internally berated himself, straightening up a bit to look normal. “Just a bit tired, sorry…”

“If you need anything...” Kimi offered, but Sebastian shook his head and finally looked back at him.

“I’ll be good, it’s okay.” Sebastian assured.

“Stay here. I’ll get us something to eat. Then, you’ll feel better.” Kimi jumped to his feet and was gone before Sebastian could refuse.

The dinner was ready. It was a hearty pilaf full of meat and pieces of dried vegetables. Kimi got a larger share for Sebastian and he grabbed some bread and dried figs before he returned back to where Sebastian was. He handed the healer his bowl and then disappeared yet again to fetch tea cups and a bag of tea to steep some with the boiling water over the fire.

They ate their dinner in silence and Sebastian watched Kimi make tea for them. He knew that it was for him, because Kimi preferred coffee. “We’ll start with you.” He broke their silence. When Kimi appeared to not catch on, he went on. “You are the one who is together with Arnall the most. So, I should check you first.”

“But you don’t feel well.” Kimi protested.

Sebastian shrugged. “It is just a check, and I feel better now."

“Here?” Kimi’s eyes were a bit wide now.

“If you don’t mind?” Sebastian was willing to get burnt, “Touching your hand or arm is enough for me to understand.”

Kimi nodded with a bit of hesitancy. He held out his left arm to the healer, watching him with eyes filled with childish curiosity.

Sebastian realized that touching the other’s hand might be a bit intimate for Kimi and for any other onlookers, so he slid towards him and put his hand on Kimi’s tanned arm tentatively.

As expected, it was hot to the touch again, but not in a burning and consuming way. Now that he thought about it, the other youth hadn’t burned him much again since the time that he cured him in the village. Sure, Kimi’s skin still had that abnormal heat, but it was a bit mellowed down now. Then again, as far as he could recall, during all those times either Sebastian had voluntarily touched him or he hadn’t felt wary of Kimi’s touch. Was there any correlation or was it just a coincidence, Sebastian didn’t know.

He focused himself on Kimi’s core and luckily found no trace of an illness. “You are healthy. Your people seem to have looked after you well.”

Kimi was still fascinated by Sebastian’s power. “How come you and Matsu Grandma can sense people’s cores, but we the rest can’t? It is a little unjust.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at that, amused. “My power is about purifying and cleansing. It is quite natural for me to be able to see what kind of a core a person has.” 

Then he turned thoughtful, remembering how Matsu had been able to sense possibly more than any person he had ever met. Even he wasn’t able to tell the depth and the intensity of people’s cores, and thus powers, but she had been. Was that because she had been a Center, Sebastian didn’t know, but he wished he could also see what she had been able to see in others. “Kimi, do you know what a Center person is?” He asked.

Kimi had never heard something like that before. “I know about the four core types, but, no, never heard of a Center.” He confessed, all his attention on Sebastian now.

“Fire is the principal essence in these parts of the continent, where people worship the sun god. Water is the principal one in the countries with a border to the ocean. Earth is said to be more common in the south where Arda and some other rivers are born from. And air is the one that I have seen the least. You’d think that everyone has only one of these, right? But Granny had two, fire and earth. People like her are called Centers.”

Kimi was utterly befuddled and a bit upset that Matsu had never told this to him. He stayed silent a bit, trying to digest the feeling of disappointment. Then he snorted, looking at the dancing flames. “I have always suspected she had fire in her, but, earth? That explains the garden and her fascination with seeds.”

“I have never seen a person with such an inner balance. It was as if she had never been ill, her two cores were in such harmony. Maybe due to being a Center, she could feel what kind of cores other people had.” Sebastian speculated and Kimi nodded at that, thinking that she could not only tell what the core of the people she encountered was, but also the extent of a person’s power if there was any. 

That time, when she gave that reaction upon touching Sebastian, Kimi should have asked her more about it, been more persistent to learn why she got so wide eyed and excited before the healer. 

He could still recall the day when Matsu had touched him for the first time and had been rendered speechless by what she had felt in him. Was Sebastian’s power as deep and intense as his? Had that been the reason? He was never going to learn it and that saddened him.

“Talking about seeds...” Sebastian cut through his musings, one hand reaching into his shirt, he procured a small pouch. “Here... I have been meaning to give this to you for sometime."

Kimi took the pouch from Sebastian, quickly recognizing what it was.

“Granny had kept this under her shirt, close to her heart. I thought it had a meaning, so I got it for you.”

Kimi opened the pouch and took out a few seeds in his hand, a soft, forlorn look appearing on his face. “Rose tree seeds...” He murmured fondly.

That perked Sebastian’s attention. “Aren’t rose trees endemic only in Kissaara? They need water the whole year.”

“These could have grown even in that village as long as she would be the one to plant them. She liked their smell.”

Matsu had said that Kimi was collecting the best seeds he could find from the places that he visited to trade. So Kimi had contacts in Kissaara, too, if he was able to get these kind of things whenever he wanted. 

Sebastian didn’t know if he should feel surprised, considering that Kimi was a merchant. He watched him put some of the seeds back into the pouch and hide it under his golden belt. It was apparent that Kimi was feeling a bit down, so Sebastian poured them some of the tea that the other had prepared for them.

Kimi took the cup of tea Sebastian offered him and breathed in its unique aroma. For a moment, he just let it calm him before he did what he had decided to do a few days ago. He looked around and when he was sure that no one was watching, he called his companion’s attention. “Sebastian, look at this.”

Sebastian watched Kimi put his hand right into the flames with a flinch and a knee-jerk instinctive reaction of wanting to protect him. He immediately reached for Kimi’s hand, gasping loudly, but Kimi stopped him with his other hand.

“Just watch, it is alright.”

Distressed despite himself, Sebastian settled back to his side again when he realized that fire did not burn Kimi’s hand. “How?” He breathed, his eyes wide.

Kimi withdrew his hand and showed it to Sebastian. There was no blemish, nothing. “Look at the fire.” He urged his astonished companion. He focused his attention to the Ifreet of it and ordered it to put itself out.

The Ifreet snarled at him, but did as he was ordered and the fire went out as if someone put an invisible cover over it, not even an ember remaining or smoke coming out.

Sebastian was truly amazed, his heart thudding a mile at the display of power. He tried to reach for the now completely dead pieces of coal, but Kimi stopped him again.

“No, it is still hot.” He warned and looked back at the fireplace and the flames roared back to life again, making him shake his head at the mischievous Ifreet. “I can control fire.” He disclosed only one aspect of his power, hiding the fact that his core was in an elemental form, that he was essentially the sun itself, embodying all the positive and negative aspects of it in his person, but was unable to control most of them.

Sebastian was smiling; his eyes were shiny with wonder, betraying how impressed he was. “I have never seen anyone like you.” He was truly fascinated by Kimi. His ability was so spot on his character that Sebastian would have laughed at the irony of it had Kimi not been looking so somber.

It was ironical, because Kimi loved water, yet had a core of fire and a power that had nothing to do with water at all. If only Sebastian had Matsu’s ability, he could see for himself how powerful Kimi was and if this was what the Arank of Nefer had told him about. 

The Arank had said that Kimi’s power was a dormant one. This certainly wasn’t all that Kimi could do, but Sebastian respected the possibility that Kimi wanted to only disclose this much. Then again, if the other’s power was mostly dormant, even he might not be aware of the whole extent of it all.

“I wish I had been like you, instead of having this.” Now Kimi was openly playing with the fire and touching the flames since no one was looking at them.

Sebastian watched how his companion could even grab and hold the bright red wisps between his fingers as if the flames were tangible things. And maybe they were, for Kimi. “Why?” He asked, unable to comprehend how a gifted person could complain about their ability instead of embracing it. “I have met many talented people like us before. But you are the first person I have seen who can control fire.”

“You give life and I take it, that’s why.” Kimi’s serious and sharp eyes found Sebastian’s bright ones, unintentionally dousing the joy in them. “Look here.” He opened his palm and showed him the three seeds he had spared. He tried to infuse them with the fertility and longevity aspect of his power, but they turned into charcoal the second that he touched them with the rays of the sun in his other hand.

Sebastian saw that Kimi was holding something in his hand which was invisible to him and making a motion as if he was spinning a thread around the seeds in his other hand. But in that instant, the seeds shriveled and turned black. Kimi closed his fingers and ground them into ash in his fist. 

A shiver ran down Sebastian’s spine upon the demonstration. “Did you do that intentionally?” He feared the answer, because what he actually wanted to ask was if Kimi burned him intentionally, too, whenever they touched.

Kimi saw the fear in Sebastian’s eyes and a rueful smile appeared on his lips. It was ironic, how he wanted to use this power to create more and better when his attempt only resulted in destruction as if his initial aim had been that. Sebastian had to have thought so, that he was able to destroy whatever he wanted, which was true, but only the half of it. He grimaced. “I... No, this wasn’t intentional.” He didn’t want to explain that this part of his power was about the sun, not the fire, but apparently Sebastian had already gone to a conclusion.

“So your touch burns?” The healer was wary and a bit disappointed.

“No, of course not... If it were like that then I wouldn’t be able to touch anyone now, would I?”

 _But you burn me and try to consume me as if you are the fire itself…_ Sebastian would have liked to say, but Kimi seemed quite convinced of it. Now that he thought about it, earlier, Sebastian had seen him touching Arnall to help him lay down and shaking hands with a man from Webber’s group upon receiving a package from him. None of the men had shown any discomfort. Pierre had also said that he was going to test this... What happened to it? Sebastian couldn’t be the only person that got affected by Kimi’s power, right?

“Then, why does this happen?”

“My ability is a bit similar to Grandma's. She used to say that the seeds that I touch, the plants that I infuse with my power should grow better and faster and yield flowers and fruits in abundance for longer times.” Kimi thought that this roundabout explanation was safer. Sebastian didn’t need to know the rest and fear him like all others. “But as you can see... Whenever I try it, it seems I can’t control my own power and all it is good for is destruction.”

Sebastian stayed silent, observing Kimi’s downcast face. Kimi was tormented by this and he didn’t hide it from him. He had always known that Kimi was gifted, but actually he had never expected to find it out in this way and from Kimi’s own mouth no less. “You have something that is awe inspiring, watching you touch the fire, putting it off and then rekindling it by only using your mind. That thing you did to the seeds, I guess you have done that before to some other things involuntarily and the experience scarred you. To tell the truth, it is a bit scary, yes. But you chose this life. You try to be normal. You could have hurt and destroyed, but you try to live in peace. That’s a real virtue.” Sebastian believed what he said and his eyes reflected that trust.

Kimi’s eyes shone at Sebastian’s words, a lightness filling his chest like water bubbles. “You really think so?” He was like a child waiting for acceptance and validation.

Sebastian smiled at Kimi’s now elated expression. Knowing that he put that look on him made him happy, too. For all the gods under and above, he could no longer deny what he was feeling for Kimi even though he was damn well aware how useless and wrong and dangerous it was.

“I am sure that there will be a day when you’ll make those seeds bloom with the touch of your hand instead of burning them, so don’t be sad anymore, Kimi.”

The soft expression that appeared on Kimi’s face, as if he was about to break down and cry, could have stopped Sebastian’s heart had Kimi not turned his face away in time to hide it. He felt color rise in his cheeks, too, unable to suppress it.

“That is what my own grandmother and Matsu had told me, too.”

Speechless, Sebastian withdrew his knees to his chest and hugged them with his arms to conveniently create a safe place to bury his face into. He felt his chest hurt, his breathing becoming painful. Oh, why did he have to meet Kimi under these circumstances? Why?

Kimi should have been like Webber. He should have been a total asshole, a mock of a man, so when the time would come Sebastian could have been able to kick his face into the dirt with satisfaction to never look back... Not feel this heartbroken over... Not like this; pure and dazzling enough to make Sebastian forget what he really had to do and where he actually should be.

“Why have you told me all these now?” He had to learn this.

His face still turned away, Kimi shrugged, trying to collect himself. “You told me about yourself, just to console my mind about her death and to appease my curiosity. You trusted me enough to share it with me. It is only natural to return the courtesy.” Though, Kimi wasn’t sure if telling only half of the truth counted as being trustable.

Sebastian was wondering the same thing even though he felt honored by Kimi’s faith in him. He guessed that the reason behind Pierre wearing only the ankle chains and him wearing none at all was this trust that Kimi was putting in him. Too bad that Sebastian planned to betray that trust at the first chance that he was going to get. 

He was almost about to feel sorry for it, realizing how dangerous his emotions could become if he’d act on them further. Getting to know Kimi better served only in putting his heart and mind into turmoil. He should stay away even though Kimi seemed to be seeking out his company constantly.

When Kimi saw that Sebastian liked his answer, he realized that he’d done the right thing by sharing a bit of his secret with him. Getting to know the younger man better only deepened the sweet ache and the guilt in his heart, but he craved for more moments like this even though he knew that he was pushing both himself and Sebastian into a world of hurt and pain when Sebastian would find out who he really was and what he had been doing to him. He wished that accursed time would never come, but he had learnt the hard way that everything had an end.

“I need to sleep.” Sebastian made a motion to stand up, but as soon as he was on his feet, he felt light headed and the ground shifted under his feet. So much for trying to run away, he thought bitterly, shutting his eyes on instinct. He was caught by Kimi. The other youth steadied him and held onto his arm and elbow to let him reorient himself.

“You stood up too quickly.” Kimi’s voice was coming really close, his breath fanning against his left cheek.

Seeing the spreading flush on the healer’s face, Kimi got worried, not aware that he was the cause of it. “Sit down again, sleep here if you want. I can call for extra beddings.” He offered.

 _Not in a million years…_ Sebastian thought, especially after realizing so much about his feelings for him. “I really should leave; I don’t want to create any more gossip material.”

Kimi could understand that. “Alright, but let me walk beside you there.” He insisted.

Sebastian let him, slowly going to where he knew Pierre was. The teen would want to learn everything, but he had to wait. He really needed to sleep on the things he had discovered and felt today.

Bidding Sebastian goodnight, Kimi returned towards where his tent was set up near the fire that they had been sitting before. He was too hyped up to sleep after all the things that he had learned and felt, so he brewed himself some strong coffee and sat there in his earlier spot.

The whole night he listened to the mischievous Ifreet of the campfire talking about how smitten Kimi was with Sebastian. But instead of angering him, it actually entertained Kimi, so he simply let the fire djinn amuse himself at his expense. Because it was the truth.

* * *

To check all the men that belonged to Kimi’s group took Sebastian’s five days. Kimi could see how Sebastian’s own health was tethering on the brink of collapsing, because they had found four men, all close friends of Arnall, with the early stages of the infection and Sebastian had to stop it with his own energy. But at least now, everyone was fine and Sebastian could have a rest.

Luckily, Sebastian didn’t need to check Webber’s group, because Kimi’s men didn’t share their bowls or cups or any other utensil that could come to mind. Caravan trade people always used their own bowls or spoons, because they had the common sense to always stay alert of any infection that might render them immobile or leave them vulnerable.

Pierre was looking after Sebastian well, so Kimi tried not to worry much for him. Though the teen was terser than ever, he ignored it, thinking that Pierre had every right to be so, since Sebastian was unable to get well because of Kimi.

He saw Webber’s slave girl, Jamie, with them every night, aware that she was coming for Sebastian, not Pierre. He suppressed his irritation at the sight, also trying to ignore it, because Sebastian seemed to be enjoying her company. He was aware that the girl was an innocent and nice person; so, Kimi could understand why her company had to be pleasant for the other youth. And he wasn’t one to stoop down to the level of being jealous of her.

Currently, it was the afternoon and there was some wind. They were following the trail of Webber's group, trusting their vantage point. To calm his mind and shift his focus, Kimi observed their surroundings. 

The desert was all around them now and looked endless. The dunes were high, but their guides always knew where to direct the caravan. The southern horizon wasn't visible, because they were travelling in a valley-like trail between the high dunes. Everything in the distance was a trembling blur due to the evening heat and Kimi wondered why the sky looked more yellowish than usual.

His Arinna were serene, but they were all facing the south east, silently observing the endless desert scope. Their faces were solemn as if they were in deep contemplation or waiting for something.

Kimi wondered what his Sun Maidens were watching. He gently spurred his horse to a faster walk until he reached the front of his group. 

Seeing him there, one of the scouts eyed him in question. "Bey?"

"Send a man up those dunes. Ask him if he sees any approaching travellers." He ordered and the guard rushed to do his bidding.

Where Kimi and Webber's groups mingled and walked together, Pierre was alert, too. He was leading Sebastian's horse and his eyes were on the dunes, trying to catch any animal activity that he might find. But currently there wasn't much movement. His eyes shot up to his elder and when he saw him dozing off to the rhythmic trot of the horse, he didn't bother him. But there was this uneasiness growing in him.

Jamie was walking close to them and seemed at ease. Pierre knew that his uneasiness was due to his hyper senses, so it wasn't unusual when he would be the only one to sense the foreboding feeling in the air. He kept walking nonetheless.

The wind suddenly picked up significantly when they took the turn around the foot of a large dune, but it was not severe enough to get worried over yet. So, everyone carried on the trail as usual until Kimi's scout galloped down from the highest dune.

Even before the scout came down, Kimi realized that there was something wrong, because the way the wind turned harsher wasn't normal. The dune that they just passed had been shielding them.

"Bey, the horizon is red and dusty and the wind is much harsher up there. The dunes are shielding us." The scout told only for his ears to not panic the rest of the people. 

Kimi gritted his teeth. A sandstorm was coming. He looked around and tried to figure out where they could stop and hide to avoid the eye of the storm. Because they were in a valley, the storm was possibly going to follow the trail of it and deposit sand above their heads and bury them.

"Mark!" He yelled to be heard and his loyal man was quickly beside him. "A sandstorm is coming, group everyone and prepare." 

Arnall nodded with a solemn face and Kimi spurred his horse on to the front of Webber's group. "Guides! Come up here!" He yelled both in his language and Qenaani. Three men approaching him, now Webber's men were also alert.

Kimi took them towards the front, where he also found Webber on a camel. "A sandstorm is coming." He explained the situation, turning everyone's expression grim. "We need to find somewhere safe to stop before the nightfall or this thing might bury us during the night."

Webber nodded. "I was expecting this… The change in the strength of the wind wasn't usual." Now their turbans and clothes were flying. "We must stop."

"Not here, though…" Kimi shook his head even as Webber's men began to disperse among the people to stop the caravan. "We need somewhere that can shield us in case what's coming our way is bigger than expected."

The situation wasn't yet sure enough to kick people into a panic, but they really needed to decide quickly. 

"Beys, we can use this dune's north west skirt as a shield." One of the guides offered and both Kimi and Webber agreed. 

From then on, it was a race against time as they didn't know when the storm was going to hit them. 

Pierre, Sebastian and Meera all had to help with the preparations, too. So, they had to split up. 

The animals were quickly getting agitated and making them sit under the huge blankets was a feat. Pierre was a master of it, but he could only deal with so many of them. Sebastian was relatively lucky in getting them to trust and obey him, too. So, the two of them were getting called by almost everyone.

Sebastian had already been tired, having recently finished his treatment of Kimi's men. Trying to coax that many frisky animals was harder than it seemed when sand began to billow around them, lifted up by the stronger wind.

Some animals were clearly frightened, though. And Sebastian could guess the reason. The snakes and scorpions were all crawling around, too, disturbed by the shifting sands and the harsh wind.

Trying to do his best, Sebastian didn't even have much time to correct his own turban and cover his own mouth and nose as he managed to sit down another camel and secure its cover. But it was getting damn harder to see around and he didn't realize that he was almost one of the last men who got left on the edge of the now huddling group.

Panic pooled in his stomach and his heart picked up speed when he tried to go after an animal on the loose and got hit by the howling wind. The force of it made him stagger, turning him almost blind. He tried to breathe less and keep standing on his feet, but the wind was literally pushing him along its course. He had to find himself a corner to huddle, yet he didn't even have his blanket to cover himself. 

He considered just sitting down where he was to avoid getting separated from the main group more. But then again, without anything to protect himself from the sand, he knew he'd get buried alive. With a sinking feeling, he realized he should have sat down with the last man he had helped.

Just as he blindly tried to find his way back to the main group, he heard a horse neigh like a far away whisper and turned to it instinctively. The animal might have escaped and even injured him on its way, but in his panic, Sebastian wanted some form of contact even if it was just an animal.

All of a sudden, somebody grabbed his arm and tugged at him so urgently that all he could was to follow them like a limpet, trusting them with his life.

The person, whoever they were, walked him a few meters and pulled him under a huge thick cloth. They made him sit down besides what felt like a huge animal. He coughed with the dust he inhaled when he had to breathe, tasting the earth on his tongue. It was nasty to breathe in the dust, but better than getting buried under it. He was eternally grateful for this person's help and could only let them brush the dust off of his turban, still a bit wheezing.

He tried to clean up his face as his savior secured the blanket closed around them with only a little opening left for their breathing.

"Don't do that. I'll help you." 

That was Kimi's voice and it immediately filled Sebastian's heart with warmth and comfort. Awed by the knowledge, he sat still, now painfully aware of who was sitting so close to him.

"Throw your turban back." Kimi's voice was soft and Sebastian did as he was told. "I will pour water and you'll wash your eyes, okay?"

Nodding, Sebastian leaned forward and cupped his hands. He cleaned his eyes and nose with the water from Kimi's flask and when he could finally open his eyes, Kimi was watching him with relief.

"Any sense of burning, scratchy feeling?" Kimi asked, reaching up and cleaning the rest of the dust from Sebastian's face with a piece of wet cloth.

Frozen on his spot, Sebastian shook his head, his heart thudding a mile in his chest. "Thank you for saving me there…" He blinked at the other youth while Kimi went on cleaning him up in the dim light the blanket created over them. "I couldn't see anything. I got lost."

Kimi nodded slowly in understanding and handed him his flask. "Drink as much as you want." He instructed and watched Sebastian do as he was told.

To share the blanket effectively, they were so close, with Kimi's horse softly harrumphing beside them. The large animal was keeping the blanket from flying over their head by sitting on one of the edges of it. The wind was roaring above them and even though Sebastian had seen sandstorms before, he had never experienced one that hit this quickly and this strongly.

"How did you realize I was missing?" Sebastian asked, his blue eyes big with wonder. He had a guess, because he knew Kimi never took his eyes from him, but he wanted to hear it from the other youth.

Before putting it away, Kimi took a sip from his flask, too, maybe to think what answer he was going to give. Even in the dim light and the frightening sounds of the wind, he could see the healer's whole attention was on him. He decided that there was no need to give him a convoluted answer. "I was afraid for your safety… I saw you running around helping others with the animals and I realized if the storm would hit suddenly, you'd be left outside. So, I ran to you." He confessed and shrugged.

Sebastian bit on his lip to stop himself from smiling in excitement, averting his eyes in shy happiness. "Thanks for looking out for me." His voice was like a whisper, but when he saw Kimi's small smile, he knew that Kimi had heard him.

Kimi couldn't help but give Sebastian furtive glances, realizing that it was hard to hold his blue gaze this close. But it was also so nice to see his small pleased smile and share this space with him.

"What now?" Sebastian asked to break the silence.

Kimi couldn't help but shrug again. "We wait for it to pass…"

"How long does it take for a storm like this to pass?"

Having encountered situations like this before, Kimi made a guess. "It can slow down this instant or continue for an hour. You can never really know unless you see it coming in the daylight and from a higher ground."

Sebastian's eyebrows rose at the information. Being this close to Kimi made him recall the time Kimi had tried to help him sit up only for Sebastian to end up in his arms. He had refused to think much about it at that time, but it had been so comfortable and warm and safe. With a pleasant shiver running down his spine, he silently confessed to himself that he wanted the feeling back. 

Even in the dim light Kimi had seen him shivering. "Are you cold?" He asked, now realizing that the winds were getting actually colder due to the approaching night. The blanket above them was thick, but the healer was still weak and tired.

Shaking his head in habit, Sebastian was about to say no, but he shivered again. Now that he was safe and the urgency of the situation had passed, his adrenaline was burnt and left him feeling more tired than before. "I guess…" He admitted. But Kimi had reacted even before he spoke.

There was a spare thick coat in the bag slung against his horse's back. So, Kimi pulled it out. But instead of handing it to Sebastian, he got closer and draped the thick garment on his shoulders, helping him wear it.

Goosebumps broke over Sebastian's skin, not because of the cold, but because how he was again almost practically in Kimi's embrace. He only had to lean in a bit for Kimi to press him to his side, and his pride and his need to rest warred for a few seconds there. Thankfully, Kimi made the decision for him.

"Rest here and sleep. You need it." He gently maneuvered Sebastian's body in a way where he could lean on his horse and Sebastian could lean on him.

To refuse Kimi's offer proved to be harder than anything. So, practically sitting between Kimi's legs, Sebastian let Kimi tuck him under his chin. His forehead was resting against Kimi's neck and he could feel the steady pulse of the other youth, his heat, his strong frame supporting him… When he closed his eyes, it felt surreal, unreal even. If only he could calm his heart down, too, maybe then he could also trick his mind into thinking that this was just a dream. Because, if this was just a dream, then he didn't have to carry the guilt that came with it. The unpleasant thought made him burrow into Kimi's side more as if he wanted to hide from it. 

Pleased by the trust put into him, when Sebastian burrowed further into his side, Kimi thought the healer had to be still cold. So, to offer more of his own body heat, he wound his arms around the other and cradled him as if he was holding something fragile. Thus, what began as Sebastian propping his body against Kimi's for support turned into a full hug and neither was complaining.

They sat in silence like that for a while, listening to the wind howling and everywhere getting darker. Night was falling and there wasn't any sound or movement around other than the storm.

Going by his even breathing and relaxed frame, Kimi guessed that Sebastian was sleeping. The sounds were a bit haunting, but also lulling as there was nothing to do under the blanket in the darkness. Even Kimi was about to fall asleep when Sebastian flinched in his arms and went stiff. Alarmed by the sudden movement, his attention focused on the healer. "Bad dream?" He hoarsely whispered, but Sebastian was sitting like a stone now.

"Something's crawling on me…" Sebastian's voice was tight and low.

They were both mostly covered, but… "Where?" 

"C-climbing up my leg…" Dread plunging him into full wakefulness, Sebastian didn't know what to do other than keeping as silent and as still as possible. "Scorpion… Big..."

Kimi tensed up, too, his mind quickly catching up with the implications. If Sebastian would get stung, he possibly wouldn't die from it, but Kimi didn't know how much and how quickly the healer would be able to heal himself. The scorpions of this area was big and venomous enough to kill an adult in a few hours. "Don't move." He told the younger man, mostly to calm him down. But honestly, he actually didn't know what to do without being able to see where exactly the scorpion was. Even if he'd find it, would he be able to kill it with his short knife without hurting Sebastian in the process? He doubted it.

Just then, one of his Arinna made herself visible up close to him, shiny strands of light in her small hands, only visible to Kimi's eyes. The girl had a solemn look and Kimi instinctively realized that she was there to help him out.

And as if the animal could sense the phantom light, it stopped where Kimi now could see it, right on top of Sebastian's calf, taking a stance. With growing apprehension, Kimi figured that the animal was ready to sting. 

Sebastian had to have sensed or seen the thing, too. Because he was holding onto his overcoat as if it was a lifeline.

Kimi acted quickly. He really didn't want Sebastian to see this, but saving him was more important than saving grace. So, he took the strands of invisible light in his fingers and wound them around the scorpion like he'd tie a big knot. With a clear intent to destroy it, he pulled tight. 

The animal was hot charcoal in an instant, the embers scattering around and dying down quickly. And Sebastian saw it turn to dust without even so much having the time to struggle.Wide eyed, he sucked in a deep breath, but couldn't relax, his mind filled with questions about the extent of Kimi's power.

Possibly sensing his troubled state, Kimi tried to dispel the awkward silence.

"I guess you saw it." Kimi's forlorn voice sounded right in his ear and made him shiver in ways he refused to acknowledge. He was afraid, he couldn't deny it, just like when he had seen how Kimi had turned those seeds into ash. But this was a bit different. That scorpion was huge, he had felt that much as it crawled on his leg. It had been a living thing… And Kimi destroyed it in the blink of an eye. 

He was aware he should put some distance between them now, but for the life of him he could only hold on to the other's clothes and bury his forehead in the crook of his neck as if he could escape from his own thoughts by doing so.

"I swear, I don't want to hurt anything." Kimi mumbled, his voice sounding regretful, sad. His arms were no longer embracing Sebastian to give him a leeway to get away from him if he so desired. Like everyone else had done before...

Sebastian was severely aware of it, of what kind of horrors Kimi had to have gone through because of this. "I know." He breathed, "I just… It was… It was both spectacular and a bit scary, I can't lie. But as I said before, it is awe inspiring, Kimi. Most Beys of these lands would sell their souls to own what you have. But you refused to be a warlord or even a conqueror with that power of yours, and aspire to be a fisherman…" Here, he smiled despite himself at the memory of Kimi telling him that. "Which shows the goodness of your heart. How you love peace… And I can only respect and admire that." He tried to reassure Kimi, for some reason feeling desperate for him to not wallow in self hate about this.

Sebastian's words quelled the pain in Kimi's chest and when he also didn't get away from him, Kimi couldn't help but smile in relief. He didn't put his arms around Sebastian again, because it felt too personal and intimate after what happened. But he whispered in gratitude for his words. "Thank you."

Sebastian wanted to say many things, do many things to take Kimi's mind off of how the unpleasant encounter had made him feel, but he didn't know what to say or do other than to continue leaning against Kimi's side and wait for the winds to subside.

Sometimes staying silent was better than involving himself with matters he didn't understand. Not just to avoid being burnt, but also to keep his heart from getting tangled in the flames, too.

-

TBC.. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am having a very rough week. So, i am giving the boys a rough time to even things out 💁

On the thirty second night of their trip, they were all sleeping in their tents after the big storm to find some normalcy and comfort. Yet a big commotion woke everyone up, including Kimi. It was close to the dawn, the darkest and the coldest hour of the night. The guards were running around, shouts were coming from Webber’s side of the camp.

Kimi got his kilij ready and got out of his tent carefully to see what was happening. Just then, one of his guards approached and told him that somebody had been seen going back from the side of Webber’s group with a horse. That side was close to a high sand dune and thus darker and more secluded.

As expected, Webber’s camp was afoot; several men with horses leaving it to possibly follow after the escaped man.

Kimi thought that getting involved was troublesome and useless. So, he ordered his men to lay low and mind their own business. As a precaution, he stayed awake and observed his men. Most of them were awake now, he could even see some of them completely giving up on sleeping and starting fire to steep tea and brew coffee for breakfast.

An hour later, the dawn was about to break and now everyone was up and about. While the people were eating and getting ready to leave, Webber’s men returned with an unconscious person thrown over a horse, dangling from it lifelessly. Kimi watched it in distaste, but it was Webber’s business, not his.

During the night of the same day, Kimi went to the other Bey’s tent perfunctorily, to ask if there was a problem and if he could help. Not that Kimi really wanted to do it, but it was common courtesy and he simply went about it.

He wasn’t surprised to find a beaten up man near the entrance of the lavish tent, half dead and bleeding. He schooled his features into a neutral look and saluted Webber.

The said man stood up to welcome him, nonchalant and easygoing as ever. They sat down for coffee, talking about mundane things until the conversation came to the whimpering and chained man on the ground.

“This lunatic stole some gold and a horse to run away.” Webber waved his hand at the man as if he was pointing at a bug. “He simply got what he deserved.”

Kimi could see a large raw wound on the upper part of the man’s hand as if he was skinned there. The tattoo of ownership was gone.

Knowing where Kimi's eyes were, Webber chuckled. “He skinned himself. Can you believe it? He said he was either going to be free or die as a free man, my ass.”

Webber’s sole chained slave was Jamie, Kimi knew it. What had this guy gone through to even cut away his own skin to get rid of that tattoo, he couldn’t imagine. Webber liked to be needlessly cruel.

“Now, I can understand why you are using chains instead of the tattoos... Look at that shit. It certainly decreases the value of the merchandise, that ugly wound.” The older man was smoking as if he had no care in the world. “Putting them in chains certainly limits their movement. If only I had put this fool in shackles before, he couldn’t have done this... I should have followed your example.”

Kimi barely kept himself from frowning tersely at the man. “That’s your choice.” He bit, totally put off by Webber’s insinuations.

Webber looked as if he was remembering something. “Then again, why is the Healer-boy unchained? Have you set him free?” He asked, appearing totally guileless.

Kimi gritted his teeth imperceptibly. “No.” He curtly dismissed the question, but Webber was insistent.

“Then you plan to put a tattoo on him. I see… After saving your life, you are rewarding him.”

Kimi held his tongue about how Sebastian could easily erase it even if he’d get it done a hundred times. He shook his head and that shut up Webber’s mouth for a while, surprising him. He drank his coffee without tasting it, wanting to leave as quickly as he could.

“So you either don’t care whether he runs away or trust him enough to believe that he'll stay.” It was as if Webber was speculating to himself, but he knew that he had successfully planted the seeds of doubt in Kimi’s mind.

“That is none of your business.” Kimi gazed into the other’s eyes as if he could kill him with his looks.

Getting the message, Webber raised a hand. “Easy, now. I meant no offense.” He backpedalled.

Kimi got up and made to leave. “Whatever. I have things to do.”

Unabashed, Webber called after him. “Won’t you send me that healer of yours? This fool needs to be patched up a bit.”

Kimi would have done so, not because Webber had asked, but because he felt sorry for the escaped man. Yet Sebastian was recovering and he didn’t want him to exert himself further. “You have your own healer, right?” He asked over his shoulder. “You shouldn’t break your toys if you are going to cry over them later.”

Webber watched Kimi leave with hard eyes. But then, his expression turned into that of mirth. He leaned back and continued his smoking like the lazy cat he was. “And if you don’t want to lose your toys, you should chain them down, my friend.” He grinned.

* * *

Two days later, Kimi was sitting in his tent with a lantern beside him and a message in his hand. It had come from Nico, tied to the foot of his falcon when they had stopped for the night. He no longer saw the letters, his mind wandering.

Earlier, he had informed Nico of the events in the village, about how Sebastian had saved his life and how his ability worked. His friend had not said much then, already gaining on them, because Kimi had lost five days in that village. But with this message, it was clear that Nico had started a background check on Sebastian secretly long ago than Kimi had a guess.

He didn’t know if he was thankful to Nico for learning about Sebastian or a bit angry at him for ruining what he was feeling for the healer. His eyes were hard and full of disappointment.

Nico had given their mutual friend Lando the duty of asking around about Sebastian and Pierre. Apparently, the two were seen at many places, even in Shalbatana's capital city Behram, healing people and animals alike, asking for nothing in return, always paying for whatever they'd eat or use. 

Nico had written that it was suspicious for anyone to always have money on them when they did not earn it. 

Another interesting thing was the fact that Sebastian had been seen traveling with some other men around, not just with Pierre, in Shalbatana and in Kissaara. The catch was, those men were all Beys of Kissaara. Nico believed that Sebastian was a Bey from their enemy country and with his right hand man, Pierre, they were spying on Shalbatana for the Kissaaran Sultan.

This got more meaningful when Kimi remembered their talk about the dam and how averse Sebastian was to the idea of it. Of course, a Bey from Kissaara would think that way, because due to the dam, the water flow of River Arda was reduced and Kissaara no longer had an abundance of it. 

Sebastian seemed to know a great deal about the underground water levels and how the dam was bloating in the middle section of the river basin and how the rising waters had invaded the lands and damaged nature.

Why would he know all these, unless he had a secret agenda about the dam and the environment around it? What was more, the village where Sebastian had claimed to be captured by the bandits had open irrigation canals and gods knew what his actual purpose for visiting it had been.

How could things add up so well unless they were the truths? Kimi put the message aside and lay back on the cushions, looking up unseeingly. When he thought that he had disclosed vital information about himself to a possible spy from the enemy country, he wanted to kill himself even before Nico would have a chance to learn what the hell he had done. And he had unlocked Sebastian and Pierre’s chains, trusting them so easily like giving them an open invitation to run away and betray Kimi to their Sultan. 

He had gotten angry at Webber that night for how he had talked about using chains on the slaves, but now that he thought about it, the other Bey had pointed at a real problem for him. His heart and conscience were telling him otherwise, but he had to put the shackles back on the healer and his friend until the time he’d get new information about them from Nico. He shouldn’t jeopardize his situation anymore than he had already done so by talking about his ability to Sebastian that night and showing him how it worked.

Completely drained of his good spirits, he called Arnall and told him to reuse the chains on Sebastian and Pierre, pointing at where he had been keeping them.

He didn’t know if he should feel sad or snort at the way even his trusted man raised an eyebrow at his order as if he couldn’t understand why Kimi would do such a thing. He ignored the voice of his conscience and decided to eat his share in his tent tonight.

* * *

Sitting near one of the camp fires, Sebastian and Pierre were listening to the men talking about how they were quite close to their next outpost, which they’d reach there in less than two days. But Sebastian could feel nothing from the underground. He just hoped the wells that they were about to reach got their source from the opposite direction and that their waters would be alive. He highly doubted that, but hope helped him in coping with the demoralization that he and Pierre were going through.

They had learned about the escape attempt of Webber’s man from Jamie. She had told them about how he'd been caught, how he had skinned his own hand and how much beating he'd gotten.

“If you are going to escape, you should try it in a city, not in the middle of nowhere like him.” Jamie had whispered to them. “How stupid was he to choose such a place to run away...”

The unsuccessful attempt of the poor man had doused their spirits a bit, but Jamie was right. They should try it in or near a city where they could hide easily. 

Sebastian hoped that Kimi wouldn’t reattach the chains on him, so their only problem would be the ones on Pierre's feet. They had to think something about it.

“Harin is a very big city. There, you might give it a try. I can help you.” She had cheered them up. “I heard that after this outpost, the next stop is that city.”

They really had to be on alert from now on, because at least they learned the route thanks to Jamie. Now she had to go, called in to attend to Webber, leaving the two of them with a totally disgusted look. They didn’t talk after she had left, choosing to wait silently for the dinner on their fire to cook.

Their sullen waiting was disrupted by Arnall. The man approached them and told them to come with him. A bit wary, they followed Arnall to a less occupied part of the camp, only to be presented with their old chains.

Sebastian was devastated. His feelings had to be clear on his face, because even Arnall looked apologetic as he relocked the thin and shiny shackles back on them.

“Why?” Sebastian asked, unable to hide his sadness.

“Bey didn’t tell me anything.” The bald man did his job and left them.

Sebastian simply sat down there and looked at his hands and feet with alarmingly blurring eyes. He bit on the inside of his cheek to stop his unbecoming reaction, not willing to take Pierre's well deserved berating that it might cause.

What had he been expecting? He closed his eyes and gnashed his teeth. He had been such a fool to have hoped that Kimi was now trusting him a bit, that he began to hold Sebastian in higher esteem and realized how demeaning and ridiculous the chains were. So much for that idea of Jamie’s about Kimi liking him, having feelings for him, huh?

He exhaled a loud sigh and looked at Pierre. “There goes our hope to stay unchained until our chance would come. We are back to square one...”

Pierre was aware that Sebastian was also angry at himself for being hopeful. He shrugged.“If we can’t find a way until then, we will run away with these attached on, Seb. Nothing has changed.”

Sebastian nodded, finding a bit solace in Pierre's conviction. “We will get away, I promise you. Before we are out of Belili’s border, we’ll manage.”

Still rattled at himself and Kimi, Sebastian stood up to return to the fire. “Come. There is no reason to miss the dinner.” He urged the teen. “That guy couldn’t escape and cut his tattoo. Webber put him in chains, right? I am sure the reason behind Kimi’s order is what that guy had tried to do that night.” He made a half correct guess.

They endured the stares of the people as they ate their fill. It was evident that the men around them found the situation a bit strange. But no one questioned Kimi’s orders and no one pried into what he did. It was fine with Sebastian, because he had no patience to answer stupid questions or listen to pitying remarks. Thanks to this, he was finally able to set his heart straight, no longer feeling guilt and remorse about what he had come to feel for Kimi. Because now the starkness and the harshness of their situation was slapped across his face mercilessly. It was brutal, but it felt good to clear his mind.

The next few days, he stayed away from Kimi and returned to his duties by his order, mostly helping Pierre in animal care. They arrived at the second outpost in one and a half days, a few hours well into the afternoon, and the first thing Sebastian did was to concentrate and find where the wells took their water source from. Just as he had expected, the source was coming from the south, where he guessed Harin was located. But he realized that these wells were also seasonal ones unfortunately.

The village seemed larger than the first outpost with eight wells and a garrison guarding them. It was not as green as Matsu’s village, but people seemed to be able to grow some trees and veggies near the wells.

Sebastian doubted that he’d have the chance to go near and look into the wells other than the ones that they were going to camp near, but he could already sense that the waters were dead. It seemed to him that the underground trail went to the south a bit, but then was cut off from the main source because of seasonal aridity or some other reason. That was good, because it meant that in the further south, there had to be a large resource, an oasis or maybe a river. That was certainly where Harin was. Sebastian wondered how far the city was from the second outpost.

* * *

The thirty-sixth night of their travel was a bit hectic. Men set up their tents and built large fires, tiredly cooking dinner and steeping tea. Sebastian healed Pierre's new chain wounds that appeared on his hands and he had cured a man from Webber’s group of a small scorpion sting, since it had happened right beside him when they had entered the village. But the surprise of the night was a broken arm.

While he and Pierre were helping with the unloading of the bales from the camels, a young man had to have distressed an animal unknowingly. The angry camel had created a commotion. Since the bale had already been untied from it, it fell down on the young man before people could stop the camel from thrashing about. The young man got his right arm broken.

Sebastian had told the men to carry the injured one to a safer place, Pierre staying behind to console the agitated animal. Brought near a large fire, Sebastian began to work, immediately realizing that the poor man had broken his arm in two different places. Sebastian knew how important it was for these people to use weapons and ride horses without any hindrance, so a mistreated broken arm meant a permanent incapacity for the young man. He had to use his core energy to set the bones straight, so the arm would heal perfectly.

He asked for the things he needed to stabilize the arm and his medicine bag. Then, he began his work. Right after he made the man scream in agony as he set his bones, Kimi arrived. Sebastian didn’t even acknowledge his presence as the other talked with the people that were helping him in holding down the injured guy.

Sebastian did his best and wrapped the arm securely. He made the man swallow a strong pain remedy that he had prepared before and told him how to take care of the arm. Finishing his work, he got up and left, all the while avoiding Kimi. But just as he was about to pass between two tents, his arm was grabbed and he was pulled into one of the tents in a flash. Even before seeing who his captor was, he knew that it was Kimi by the intense burning sensation that spiked up into his skin from his touch.

Unable to suppress his flinch at the pain, Sebastian shook off Kimi’s hold and hid his arm behind him, immediately healing the red mark of his hand. He looked up at the anxious green eyes coldly, appearing totally disinterested in what Kimi might want to say.

Feeling as if he had stumbled into a stone wall when he met Sebastian’s eyes, Kimi didn’t know what to say other than weakly pointing out the obvious. “You look paler than usual.”

Sebastian considered not talking and quickly leaving the tent, but then he realized that it would seem as if he put too much meaning in what Kimi had done to him. No need to boost the other’s ego by acting terse and aggressive. Staying dispassionate and aloof was the best option. “I had to set the bones and heal them a bit. That’s why.” He informed in a matter of fact tone.

Kimi couldn’t say a word. He had grabbed onto Sebastian’s arm on an impulse when he had realized the healer was avoiding him again, just like he had done in their first outpost. But what had he been expecting from Sebastian after putting him back in those shackles and chains? Smiles and nice words? Sebastian was treating him just as the situation called for, so it was high time for Kimi to treat him as he deserved, too, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“I am leaving if that’s all.” Sebastian made for the entrance of the tent, but Kimi stopped him again.

“Ignoring me will not help with your problem, Sebastian.” For some strange reason, Kimi couldn’t help but make a jibe at the other, a bit angered by how Sebastian had flinched from him yet again as if he was a pest, not worthy of his touch.

Sebastian’s eyes widened at Kimi’s open confrontation. “And what is my problem, pray tell?” He raised an eyebrow at the other, damn well knowing what Kimi was talking about.

“You are angry at me for these.” Kimi nodded at the chains on the healer’s ankles and wrists.

“Oh, these...” Sebastian chuckled derisively without any humor, making the chains jingle. “I had been missing them. They are like a part of me now.”

The wounds and the bruises on that otherwise unmarred skin were so plain to see even in the semi darkness of the tent that Kimi could only have a guess at how much they hurt and how stubborn Sebastian was to not heal them.

“I know it was my mistake to let you hope that from now on you can go on without these, but...” Kimi took a step towards him as if he was going to touch the wounds on his wrists and Sebastian immediately realized that something changed in the air, in Kimi, that sped up his heart and dare he say, gave him goosebumps.

“But, as you have said before, you do not belong to me to do as I please with you.” Kimi looked back at his eyes and in their greens Sebastian saw the forlorn and unquenched desire swirling.

Redness and heat spread across his face instantly despite himself when he realized that the other chose to use that phrasing knowingly, because Kimi had never looked at him before with that open want reflected in his blown pupils.

Now his facade of calm completely blown off, Sebastian tried to keep it together in vain, all his instincts on the edge. “You did what your friend would have expected you to look after his merchandise.” He furrowed his brows at the other, sensing that he was being cornered craftily. “I have no bone to pick up with you. Now stand back, I am leaving.”

Kimi didn’t heed Sebastian’s order; the healer’s well suppressed anger gave him a thrill he didn’t deny himself of. He took another step and Sebastian did not back away even though his body seemed ready to sprint, barely holding his ground against him. They were nearly nose to nose and he was aware that if cornered much, Sebastian would hit him with the chains without any hesitation. What a stark contrast it would be to the night when Sebastian had burrowed into his arms in that storm… It was hurting Kimi. 

“Why are you making this difficult for the both of us, Sebastian? Why do you always take your guard when I try to approach you?”

The question and seeing those pleading eyes so up close threw Sebastian off. He didn’t know what to say to Kimi anymore, so he averted his eyes awkwardly. He was sorely aware of his rapidly beating heart, the proximity and Kimi’s captivating aura affecting him in ways he didn’t want to acknowledge. Despite himself, he backed away a step, trying to pass by Kimi to escape from the tent.

“No, you don’t get to leave.” Kimi side stepped into his way, blocking him. “You always leave and expect me to figure you out. Talk, say what is on your mind.” He tried to urge Sebastian to speak, really wishing that he’d stop shunning him. He was unable to distance himself from him even though Nico’s letter was echoing in a corner of his mind like a constant buzz.

“I... I have nothing to say to you.” Sebastian couldn’t believe that he had stuttered, feeling trapped by Kimi. He felt furious with himself for being so inarticulate. “Nothing I might say will be enough to unlock these.” He showed Kimi his chains. “So there is no need to talk.”

Now it was Kimi’s turn to be at a loss of words. He couldn’t confess that he was Sebastian’s real owner, that he had been the one who had put the chains on him, that he was afraid of losing him and didn’t know how to make Sebastian stay other than chaining him down at his side. Sebastian would hate him forever for it and Kimi knew that even though he had deserved that hate, he wasn’t sure if he could live with it.

“Would you wish you were mine?” His abrupt question surprised even himself, his body swaying towards Sebastian as if pulled from invisible treads.

Sebastian’s eyes widened and for a moment, his heart beat in his throat with an indescribable feeling. “Yours?” His chest hurt with a mix of want, hope, love and hurt.

“If you were mine and if I’d have set you free, would you have stayed with me?” Kimi didn’t know why he foolishly hoped that Sebastian would say _yes_ , that he’d never leave him, that he’d be happy. Even the thought of this was enough to make his heart hammer in his ribcage and steal his breath away.

Sebastian couldn’t believe that he was hearing what he had imagined about Kimi not so long ago. In his heart of hearts, Sebastian’s answer was a _yes_ , because there was no need to deny it anymore. But what good was it for? What would saying it cause other than heartbreak and pain for the two of them? “As what?” He asked lifelessly. “A freed slave with a debt to pay? Your personal healer? Your friend? Maybe your lover?” He witnessed how he was killing the hope in Kimi’s eyes.

“As whatever or however you wish for.” Kimi offered, losing a bit of his enthusiasm when he saw that Sebastian was doubting his motives again.

“Then why would you buy me? For my healing power? For my looks? For your amusement in bed? What for?” Sebastian felt something clogging his throat as he spoke. “To tell the truth, I don’t even know why your friend even bought me. I have seen and talked with you way more than I did with him. It is as if he just bought me out of a whim. Don’t think that I am angry at Nico Bey, in fact, I feel lucky that he was the one who bought me, but why? He neither knew that I was a healer, nor was aware of my power. Why did he get me for that much gold? Why am I in chains like this?”

Kimi felt himself sick in the stomach as Sebastian spewed question after question with his eyes getting teary. “Because you can erase the ownership tattoo.” He weakly pointed out what Sebastian was already guessing.

“Really?” A teardrop tumbled down Sebastian’s cheek and he furiously wiped at his face, taking all his anger on himself. “He doesn’t care about me or Pierre even a bit. And here I am, left in your hands, who thinks that I must be treated this way.” His sadness was quickly turning into fury yet again.

“Sebastian, do you think I like seeing you in these? Do you think I put these on you with a clear conscience? Why do you think so lowly of me?” At that moment, Kimi felt disgusted with himself, with the man he was turning into just to continue his lie. He really wanted to shout out the truth at the younger man, but his fear got the better of him. “I am sorry, but it has to be this way.” He wanted to bite his tongue off, because the face Sebastian was making, all devastated and hopeless, was killing him.

Sebastian knew that Kimi was not to shift the blame on, that he was just an easy target for him to focus all his frustrations and disappointments and hate. Kimi was just doing what he thought the best for every party involved in this charade. But he was hurting now and in a sick and twisted way, he wanted to hurt Kimi’s feelings, too. “You know what?” He spat with a derisive tone, his narrowed down eyes puffy with unshed tears. “I would never want to be yours, not in a million years.” He declared coldly as if he was looking down on Kimi. “And you wouldn’t be able to buy me with all the gold the depths of this world could offer, Kimi _Bey_.”

Kimi let himself be pushed back by Sebastian as the other left the tent like a storm. His arms were trembling with the force he exerted to stay put, to not pursue and rile up the healer more. 

He deserved this, he really did, but it hurt. Sebastian’s pain hurt. And seeing how he had ruined his chance with him from the start with his lie even before he had known that he might fall for the healer as he got to know him... It hurt.

He _tsk_ ed and rubbed at his face to collect himself, sighing deeply at Sebastian’s bitter words. He left the tent to return to his own, his lips set grimly thin in self loathing and derision. 

_Say, Sebastian… What would you do, if you knew that I have already bought you for just a hundred pieces of gold?_

* * *

Sebastian felt desolate. He wasn’t aware but his eyes looked haunted as if something was dead inside him. But now he was more focused and sharper than ever even though his health was still recovering. 

This was for the better. He had been going out of his track, but now he returned to the mind set that he had when they had been captured by the bandits from Shalbatana. Nothing could derail him anymore now that he understood getting stuck on petty things like the feelings he had was both useless and deadly, just like Jamie had told him.

 _Whatever..._ He mentally shrugged. He was planning to eventually betray Kimi anyway. Though he was sure that reclaiming one’s freedom back did not count as betrayal whichever way you thought about it.

That same night, there was a kind of small merriment, something like a celebration, among the men. They were roasting several large lambs over the fires, apparently the courtesy of the two Beys, and good wine was abundant in earthen jugs. Men were smoking hookahs and playing instruments to amuse themselves with songs and dance.

Neither Sebastian nor Pierre joined the merriment other than getting their share from the food. Jamie wasn’t around, either, probably helping the servants of Webber. Bored, but left alone, they decided to sleep even though the laughter and the music was a bit too loud.

Well into the night, Sebastian was jostled awake by a man he didn’t know. The man motioned him to keep silent and leaned in his ear to whisper. “Come alone to the tent with a red ornament on it, enter from the back. If you don’t or if you tell anyone, Jamie will be dead.” Then the man disappeared into the still awake crowd in the middle of the camping site.

Now totally awake with a sick feeling in his stomach, Sebastian sat up, thinking. This was a trap, it was evident. He should wake Pierre and tell him. Then go and wait in that tent for the teen to come and bring Kimi or Arnall with him. 

He grimaced, rubbing at his face in desperation. He was being watched, he could tell. That meant Jamie would be dead even before he’d arrive at that tent. What to do... Nothing came to his mind as he looked around the tents to find the one with a red ornament on it. Damn it, he swore silently, that tent was on the far edge of the camp where there was little to no light and no people at all.

Pierre stirred awake by the noise of his chains, scaring him. “Seb, what is it?” He made a motion to get up, but Sebastian weakly smiled.

“Go to sleep. Nature calls.” He lied and before the teen could suspect anything, he made his decision and stood up. “I’ll be back.” He wrapped his overcoat about himself and when he felt sure that Pierre was going to sleep, he rushed towards the said tent.

Their resting place was close to the animals and the brevity was still continuing. Sebastian saw that there were women dancers among the group now, so no one seemed to notice him practically running to that tent under the dark shadows, silently.

He was aware how foolhardy he was, but he was also certain that the person who had called him was Webber and yes, Webber would certainly kill Jamie if he wouldn’t come. So he wasn’t surprised to find that menace of a man reclining on cushions at the head of a dinner spread at his feet, smoking. 

Jamie was sitting near him, dressed beautifully, her long hair done up, but her hands and feet bound tightly. She was muffled, her eyes teary, desperate, helpless; because there was a man right behind her with a sharp dagger pointed right at the hollow of her collarbones.

Sebastian was about to yell a _‘What the fuck are you doing!’_ at the sadistic man, but his voice died in his throat.

“Any loud words and she’s dead.” Webber puffed a cloud of smoke. “Any attempts at running away or trying to alert others and Jamie is dog food. You’ll sit there civilly, eat and drink with me and listen to what I say, or there will be blood tonight, Healer-boy. Do you understand me?”

Sebastian was shaking visibly in anger, his body taut like a bow. He was snarling, his own nails digging into his flesh, realizing how cornered he was. “Fucking piece of shit!” He couldn’t help with his loud remark, only to be reminded that there was a dagger pointed at Jamie by the dramatic tut-tut sound Webber made as if he was berating a child.

“Now, that won’t do. You have to stay calm, Healer-boy. That aggressiveness of yours is certainly sexy, but we don’t need it here.” Webber motioned for him to sit down. “Make yourself comfortable.”

If looks could kill, Sebastian would have done so a hundred times already. He hated the man enough to strangle him with his bare hands. He took a few glances around to assess his situation completely, but this was a well thought out trap and Webber seemed to have been thinking about this for some time.

The tent was not Webber’s, it was a simpler and smaller one. There were only two guards, one with Jamie and the other standing behind Webber; but he could tell that there were others outside laying in wait in case something would happen. 

"Ahh… I knew you'd come as soon as you'd hear my Jamie's in danger. Letting her spend time with you gave you a soft spot for her, right?" Webber was giggling, utterly pleased with his plan.

The situation seemed hopeless, he would never risk a friend’s life, so he had to comply and listen to what the sadistic man had to say. He sat down and told himself to stay calm, not to lose his head, because this shit was serious and anger only clouded his reason, not being a help at all. “What do you want, Webber?” He spoke as calmly as he could, his eyes on the dagger at Jamie’s throat.

Webber chuckled at him, an eyebrow raised at the way Sebastian had addressed him. “Ah, I love how impudent you are.” He took a deep breath from his hookah, the smell of it unsurprisingly betraying that he was smoking something else mixed with the tobacco. “Pour us some wine.” He demanded a little bit loudly and a man came in and served them. With widening eyes Sebastian saw that the servant was the man who had escaped and cut his own tattooed skin. The guy’s whole aura pulsed with resentment and vengeful vibes.

“Sharp eyes, Healer-boy...” Webber drawled. “He is the one who tried to run away, correct. But don’t mind his distasteful appearance, drink up, drink up.” He took his own cup and drank his wine in a gulp.

Sebastian didn’t want to touch anything that this man could offer, but he was threatened again.

“Drink and eat as a guest. Or Jamie will cry. Right, my darling girl?”

Sebastian took the earthen cup and drank as little as possible. “This much pretense show is enough, tell me what you want.” He had no patience, his heart running a mile per second.

“Such haste...” Webber sing-songed, but when Sebastian snarled at him yet again, he turned serious. “You seem to have reunited with those jewels of yours.” He nodded at the chains on Sebastian’s hands and feet. “See how your beloved Kimi Bey treats you at the mere possibility of you running away. The example that I have set up for him must have really frightened him, no?”

Sebastian’s lips thinned. “Was that servant’s escape attempt a fluke?” _No way_ , Sebastian thought, the man was courageous enough to skin himself and take a beating to death. He looked at Jamie as if to ask if she knew, but she shook her head with an expression of bewilderment of her own.

“Clever boy...” Webber nodded, watching Sebastian’s mouth going slack. “I told him if he could manage to get away before my men could catch up with him, he’d be free. But he was slow, you see.” He giggled. “Yet Kimi took the bait, totally frightened to lose you if you were to attempt to do the same and be successful at it. I always knew that he was quite the possessive type.” He pointed a finger at Sebastian. “Not that it is a bad quality in a man, I’ll say. Put you back into those shackles and made my job easier...”

“You sick little fuck..." Sebastian gritted his teeth. But Webber only laughed at his fury. "Turn back to the real subject.”

“Oh, but there is more to your ire, right? What happened? Did he ask for a taste of you? I know how he is lusting after you. That sour puss must have finally realized his want of you.” Webber grinned ghoulishly.

Sebastian’s expression openly betrayed his disgust at how the man’s mind worked. “Are we here to discuss his sex life? If you are that much interested, go and get a taste of it first hand. Though I doubt he would even want to touch you with a stick.” He spat, his anger betraying him and making Webber laugh at him again.

“Ahhh…. I would have looped that hot head off yours this instant for your slights, but you are far more precious than to satiate a moment of anger with, Healer-boy.” Webber turned serious again. “I see that stupid Kimi had successfully made you hate him throughly, so what say you if I told you that you can be a free man again without those chains or tattoos or anything.” He asked with faked innocence in his eyes, leaning forward with a flourish.

The idea could have made Sebastian laugh at the Bey had there been no daggers against Jamie’s neck, but he kept his calm. “Nice, I’d say.” He talked carefully, seeing how Jamie’s eyes were telling him to get away, that she was ready to die, that he should just save himself. “But why would you do that?”

Webber reclined back again, expecting the question. “Drink up, drink up. We are getting to the exciting part.” He gulped down some more wine, watching Sebastian take a sip when his man made the girl whimper to persuade him to drink.

“You see, I am completely impressed by your talent and it is wasting in the hands of that insensible brute. I’d like you to work for me and stay with me in Qenaan.”

“And be your thrall, right?” Sebastian could have vomited at the way the man nodded guilelessly.

“Well… Not just a thrall, no. I prefer the word _lover_... I’ll treat you as my equal, as a free man should be treated. You can do your magic thingy and have all the riches at your feet.” Webber put a hand on his heart, his words and his eyes saying the complete opposite. “And I’ll cherish you until the end of our lives.”

Jamie’s eyes were screaming _No!_ But Sebastian asked, immense aversion mixing with his morbid curiosity. “What makes you think I won’t run away from you, too?”

Webber sized him from head to toe in that lecherous way of his. “Surely you can... Yes… But then I’ll find you and chain you down and have you every day, torment you if necessary and make you wish for death, but never grant it to you.” He spoke as if he was talking about the weather.

His nerves finally frayed, Sebastian sputtered and then started to laugh, his insides boiling with a sick feeling he had never had before. “Just like what you have been doing to Jamie all this time, right?” He wanted to carve out those venomous hazel eyes of the man with a blunt knife when Webber simply raised an eyebrow in acceptance of his inhumanity. “You are one demented sick fuck and you enjoy being that immensely.” He chuckled in absolute contempt, holding his stomach to contain the amounting nausea. “You have planned this really thoroughly, haven’t you?” He bit on his lip and made himself bleed to stop his body’s survival reaction, his core was this close to claiming him to wreak havoc and destroy everything. “You don’t know what you wish for, Webber, you are too greedy for your own good.” He spoke the truth, unaware that his eyes dulled in color and his face looked as if he was going to be sick.

A bit mystified by the way Sebastian acted, Webber stopped his guard from approaching the healer. “I have arranged for your escape. While the men are entertaining themselves with women and liquor, you can be on the way to Qenaan. All I’d say tomorrow would be that you had escaped with a servant of mine. I can kidnap and bring that friend of yours to where you will be if you want. I can even give Jamie to you! What is your answer?”

Sebastian didn’t even consider. “No.” He gnashed his teeth, tasting his own blood, trying to stay calm.

“You think I’ll let you go?” Webber’s patience was thinning, now he was hissing like a snake. “I’ll kill Jamie and tie you up and offer you to Kimi. I wonder what he’ll say when he learns that you two tried to run away together since he suspects you are lovers.”

Sebastian needed a miracle to get himself and Jamie away unscathed from this and the longer his mind couldn’t come up with something, the harder his core tried to take over him. 

Was he going to let her die for the sake of not being found out? What the hell was he going to do even if he could kill the men here? The devastation that he would cause would kill even Jamie and the people in the vicinity, then render him depleted and completely vulnerable. Where was that damned Kimi when he needed him?

Webber made the decision for him.

Before Sebastian could protest, Webber’s man pushed the dagger right into the spot between the girl's breasts in one powerful push and Sebastian’s scream was muffled by someone who grabbed at him from behind, pointing another dagger against his neck.

“I told you to be quick, right?” Webber continued his smoking, his eyes cold and distant with no trace of mirth. “Don’t resist or you’ll die in vain.”

Sebastian, unable to take his eyes away from the dying girl’s tormented ones, struggled, but to no avail. Jamie's assailant pulled the dagger out of the wound and blood sputtered everywhere.

“One last chance, boy. Be mine and I’ll let you heal the girl. Refuse and you two die together. Not keep your word and this time I’ll slice her throat. Choose now!”

Shaking with adrenaline, fear, blind anger and hopelessness, Sebastian nodded his head affirmative. He had made up his mind, he was going to kill this man, even if it was the last thing that he’d do, he was going to make him choke on his own blood. 

Kimi would take care of the rest, he was sure. In his cloudy mind, he was sure that Kimi would realize what actually had happened here and be just and save his body from the hands of these savages.

Webber smiled like a cat who swallowed the mouse and ordered his man to let Sebastian go.

Scrambling towards Jamie on his hands and knees, Sebastian was near her lightning fast, pressing his hands on the gushing wound between her breasts and realized that her major artery and her heart was cut. She was going to die in a minute if he wouldn’t use his core energy.

He didn’t hesitate. Healing her as best as he could, he quickly got depleted, unable to close the wound completely. But at least the damaged artery and the heart were mended and only the flesh wound remained. He preserved just an ounce of his energy for Webber, who caught him as soon as he fell to the ground.

The sadistic man was smiling gleefully while he dragged Sebastian from his chains towards the pillows where he planned to rape him.

His vision swimming, Sebastian retched several times, watching Jamie’s blood covered unconscious form spread on the ground like a rag doll, unattended. His body was deposited onto the soft pillows and he lost the feeling of his feet and legs, the numbness climbing up his limbs rather quickly than he'd expected. 

He felt the putrid breath of the disgusting man on his face and grimaced at the way his clothes were torn away from his body. Thankfully, the numbness on his legs helped him to not feel the revolting touches on his skin, a horrible ache invading his head and rendering him blind. Afraid and regretful, he hoped to stay alive to see another day after what he was about to do.

He let his core claim him and grabbed onto Webber with all his might, urging all the blood in Webber’s body literally out of his pores, his eyes, ears and every other nook and cranny that it could gush out from. His mind closing in on itself, he realized in grim satisfaction that after all, listening to the screams of his enemy was not a bad way to go.

* * *

Kimi was sitting before the largest camp fire and watching his men enjoy themselves after they had endured the half of their route successfully. 

When Webber’s men had proposed to have a small celebration, saying that their Bey had given them six lambs to roast, Kimi had given permission and bought six more animals for the men to cook up a feast. They had even hired a few women to dance for them and Kimi stayed with the crowd to remind everyone to not create a commotion by forgetting their limits. So far it was so good, as men ate their fill and were now drinking the wine that they had been sparing since the first outpost. Kimi let them be, they needed to relax.

He was not in the mood for merriment, but he could go nowhere else even though currently he would have preferred the company of the healer the most. He knew he had no right to wish for that, but regret was a merciless thing, always poking its knife at his side.

His gloom was the subject of the camp fire’s Ifreet, too. The largest fire place of the camp had been there for the longest time, so the Ifreet of it was the strongest. It was also sarcastic and cruel. _“Say, King, why the long face?”_ It was deriving pleasure from Kimi’s torment.

“Mind your business, demon.” Kimi whispered under his breath. He wondered if the irritating fire guardians were ever going to show respect to him one day. Sure, they did what he'd order, they never harmed him in any way, but their cockiness was exasperating.

 _“Heartbroken, eh?”_ The Ifreet danced in the flames, nailing it down in cruel accuracy.

Kimi rolled his eyes at him, poking the coal bits with the stick in his hand. “Shut up or I’ll douse you with water.” He threatened.

Not a bit fazed by Kimi's usual threatening, the djinn laughed. _“Ignoring me will not help with your problem, King.”_ He drawled, perfectly imitating Kimi’s voice and words.

The dejavu irritated Kimi more, so he asked to complete the circle. “And what is my problem, pray tell?”

_“Pffft! Ha ha ha ha ha!”_

Sometimes Kimi really wished that other people could hear the voice of these djinns, too, so they could understand how much irritation that he had suffered because of them throughout his entire life.

 _“You know it very well because you created it with your own hand.”_ The Ifreet wisely read Kimi’s heart.

Another thing that Kimi hated about these djinns was that they all knew everything that Kimi had ever felt or thought as if they were of one mind and heart. Arinna weren’t like that, thankfully.

“Any suggestions?” He humored the Ifreet, thinking that the djinn couldn’t hit any lower than that.

The djinn seemed to be thinking or listening to something. Then he flared and seriously talked. “Instead of moping around here, you can start by protecting him.”

Kimi was instantly alert, because the Ifreets would never lie or trick him. “What do you mean?” He asked a bit loudly, drawing the attention of a few men close to him.

The djinn flared again, but this time the flames were so high and strong that all the people around it fell back in fear, except Kimi. _“Oh! How splendid!”_ The djinn rejoiced, sensing the second Sebastian’s core took him over. _“Follow the screams!”_

Kimi drew his kilij and started to run as soon as a faint scream was heard from the right hand side of the camp, coming from a remote tent. Men followed after him even though they didn’t know why their Bey was running, their janbia and kilij in hand.

Seeing that this part of the camp was unnaturally silent, it took no genius to realize that there was something fishy going on with Webber’s men. He cursed under his breath when a man jumped right before him and attacked him with a long kilij. A few seconds later some of Webber’s guards were on them, trying to defend that tent with their lives.

Kimi didn’t spare anyone. It was clear to see that whatever their Bey was doing, his men wanted to hide it at all costs. Kimi got rid of the ones hindering him and when he reached the tent, the scene that greeted him made his blood crawl back in his veins. He slayed Webber’s guard without even looking at him, his gaze arrested by the blood that covered Webber, Jamie and Sebastian.

Not even taking a breath, his eyes surveyed the damage. The bound girl had a fatal wound on her chest, but she was breathing. Sebastian had to have healed her. Webber was sprawled on Sebastian, crazy with fear and pain, wailing. He was coughing up blood, the red liquid coming from his eyes, his nose and ears. And Sebastian was dyed in the blood of the others, his clothes torn, nearly naked and as white as the death itself. He looked boneless, as if all life was sucked out of him.

Kimi’s mind blanked when he thought that Sebastian was dead. All reason, caution and sense fled from him and he felt like an empty shell. It wasn’t hard to guess what had happened here. He raised his weapon and with unblinking eyes, went to loop off the useless head of the vile man, but his kilij was stopped by Arnall’s barely. 

The strong man’s shoulders were trembling with the force of countering Kimi’s blow. “Bey, stop! Don't do it! Leave him to the authorities!” He tried to reason, his wide eyes were shifting between Kimi's molten red kilij and crazed eyes. He had never witnessed this before and that made him stall a bit in awe.

Kimi was too far gone to comply. So, he took his stance back to strike again and could only be stopped by two men from delivering his blow who manhandled him with their whole bodies. When Arnall tried to help the men, he saw the color of Kimi’s eyes and felt a chill down his spine. They were eerily gold as if belonging to a statue. Seeing that almost inhuman, godly look had always been a humbling, but Arnall had to shake off the shock quickly. “Are they alive?” He was yelling at the men who filled the tent to help the wounded.

“Yes, the girl is alive!”

“The boy is alive, too, but barely.”

Hopeful, Arnall shook Kimi from his shoulders. “Bey, they are alive! Sebastian is alive!”

That did the trick and slowly Kimi’s eyes turned normal and his face took on an expression of pain and regret. Men let him go and his eyes focused on Sebastian again, seeing that Pierre was already beside him, covering his friend’s nakedness with unshed tears of frustration and abhorrence in his eyes.

Kimi felt laden, like a stick doll, ramrod and inflexible as if he was out of his body. He wasn't even aware how the kilij in his hand was red hot and people were actively leaving a bit of distance between him and themselves mostly in fear of incurring his fury again. 

Men arrested the attackers, put Jamie and Sebastian on stretchers to get them out of this death hole. Webber was half crazy, screaming at them, calling them monsters. And Kimi was about to tear his hair off, but didn’t know what stopped him from doing so. He spoke calmly, yet clearly.

“Take Sebastian and Jamie to a safer location, find Webber’s healer and ask for help. We must keep them alive so that they can testify for what happened here. Bring soldiers from the garrison. Don’t touch anything here and tie these men together until they are taken away.”

He was dying to go and help Sebastian, but he had his duty, too. When he left the tent, everybody was up and about, fully alert. “Webber’s men, you should know that in the event of any attack attempt against my group, you’ll be killed. So I advise you to stay put until the authorities arrive!” He warned.

The rest of the night was a blur. The soldiers came and took away Webber and his guards even though he was half dead and on the brink of insanity. After the soldiers’ inspection, the bloody tent was burned down and Kimi poured all of his energy to establish his control over the rest of Webber’s men, some of whom were ruffled and ready to do stupid things. 

He told the slaves that he could buy them off of that maniac if they wanted and unsurprisingly all of them agreed. The garrison was quick to valorize the slaves and Kimi bought them all. Webber had no say over the matter legally, because he was the guilty party with given evidence.

He was informed that Webber had refused to speak, unconscious most of the time. Whatever had happened to him, Webber was probably going to die, which would be the easier fate for him, because Kimi planned to drag the disgusting man’s body from here to hell and back at the first chance he got.

Emboldened after being bought by Kimi, the slave who had skinned his own hand had given testimony against Webber. And Jamie opened her eyes in the afternoon of the same day and with the help of Pierre, she told the soldiers everything.

Kimi had never been more furious. He could feel that whatever had taken him over in the tent was going to do that again as he listened to the girl. But the sight of Sebastian’s unconscious face helped him anchor himself even though it also pained him immensely.

“Why does he look worse than when he treated me?” He asked Pierre after Jamie fell asleep again and the soldiers left.

Pierre looked tormented, blaming himself for Sebastian’s state, for falling back to sleep, for not following him, for being unable to protect him from these people. “He had already been sick, curing you, who went and got himself bitten needlessly... What were you even expecting?” He accused Kimi fearlessly. “You put these back on us, as if you are chaining down dogs. Unable to even defend himself... Look at the cost of it.” He pointed at Sebastian’s right hand which was sliced deeply by a kilij. They didn’t know, but it was done by Webber’s guard to unclench Sebastian’s hold on the man when he began screaming and thrashing to get away.

Pierre was close to tears, biting on his lip to hold on. “I had to stitch it, I am nowhere as good as him, and gods know how long it’ll take for it to heal or if it’ll heal at all.”

Kimi had no answer; he had nothing to say, because Pierre was right. He just sat there near Sebastian and watched Pierre treat him. The rise and fall of Sebastian’s chest was barely visible and Webber’s healer had told him that Sebastian was on the brink of death, his heartbeat shallow and slow. He didn’t know what he would do if the younger man would not open his eyes and stayed this way, or worse, die here. Even the possibility of it was turning his breathing painful. He was sure that he’d go half crazy like Webber if that would happen. But he was here to prevent that from happening, right? There had to be things that even he could do.

“What can I do for him?” He asked. When Pierre’s distrustful, angry eyes met him, he asked again. “There has to be something even I can do for him. What can I do?”

Pierre knew what to use for Sebastian to help regain his strength when he’d deplete himself like this, but he didn’t think that could be found here. Had they been in a large city, maybe, but not here. “Nothing that this village can offer...”

He turned away from the other, rummaging Sebastian’s bag to keep himself busy to not lash out at Kimi. “We can’t even find the ingredients of Sebastian’s paste for malnutrition in this village. You can’t do anything other than waiting.” He squashed his hopes, but he had told the truth. “But if you have an ounce of sympathy for him, when you’d set out for the next town, you’d leave us here with some guardians to wait for Nico Bey’s group. Not put him on a horse and expect him to endure the same hell again.”

Kimi nodded at that, ashamed of himself for his earlier treatment of the healer. “I’ll stay here until he opens his eyes.” He conceded. “Then we’ll do as you say. You can follow us with Nico’s group.” _Maybe that’s for the better, for the both of us..._ Kimi thought. He had only caused trouble to Sebastian, nothing more.

But even after five days, Sebastian’s condition did not change.

-

TBC...


End file.
